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Following mid-day’s exposé on Dadar beach serving as a godown for road construction materials for over three months, activists and environmentalists have urged immediate action, noting that the site falls under the protected CRZ-1B (Intertidal Coastal Regulation Zone I). 

Residents reported on Tuesday that material shifting remains incomplete, and the contractor continues operations on the beach, even deploying additional cutters for processing metal reinforcing bars.

Contractor responds

Pranay Shetty, site engineer, M/s GHV India, stated, “Vehicle movement restricts our shifting process as the materials are huge, hence the slow pace, but it’s not like we have not taken any action. We have cleared the tetrapods’ side of the beach completely.” mid-day did not receive the contractor’s response by press time to a query seeking valid approvals for using the beach.

Authorities respond

Vinayak Vispute, assistant commissioner, G North ward, said, “I had conveyed the issue to the relevant authority, which will be the chief engineer, roadworks department. I have also received an update that materials are being moved. If the contractor fails to move all the materials from the beach site, we will seize the materials and issue a show cause notice.” mid-day tried to contact MCZMA and other officials but got no response.

Environmental concerns

Zoru Bhathena, activist, said, “The beach is for public use, and it is impossible that the contractor would have received any approval for this. It is an environmental violation.”

Stalin D, environmentalist, said, “For using the beach for any purpose, one needs permission from MCZMA, which I am 101 per cent sure they won’t have for their construction materials. And if it’s going on for months, then it is an encroachment in CRZ-1B [Intertidal Coastal Regulation Zone I], which is a serious environmental violation.”

Voices

Vaibhav Rege, secretary, Shivaji Park ALM
‘The construction work is still ongoing on the beach in spite of assurances from the BMC G North ward officer that it will be removed. They have brought even more cutters at the spot’

Rahul Nadkarni, resident, Dadar beach
‘The materials haven’t been shifted completely so far; what’s happening now from morning [Tuesday] is they have brought even more cutters. I figure they are trying to get as much done as possible on the beach site before they actually have to move from here. This is clear encroachment of the beach paired with noise pollution.’