Construction at the 8.8-acre Vikhroli Business City project has come under renewed scrutiny after authorities alleged that work continued despite multiple directives over violations of dust and noise pollution norms.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has approached the District Magistrate, Mumbai Suburban, under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), seeking intervention to address what it described as a public nuisance. Separately, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has written to the Park Site police station, asking officers to “take appropriate action as may be permissible under law, if any construction and activity is found to be continuing.”
Located at the intersection of LBS Marg and the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR), the commercial project is managed by Mapletree and being constructed by L&W Construction Pvt Ltd. Spread across 3.7 hectares, the development has a proposed gross floor area of around 2.3 million sq ft.
The site has faced regulatory action over several alleged breaches of pollution-control requirements. The BMC issued a stop-work notice in January 2026, followed by an MPCB order on July 1.
Earlier inspections identified 10 deficiencies, including the absence of anti-smog guns, uncovered construction debris and diesel-powered compressors operating without adequate acoustic enclosures. Air-quality monitoring also reportedly recorded PM10 and PM2.5 levels above the prescribed National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
A subsequent inspection on June 9 found that several shortcomings had not been rectified. The matter later reached the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which questioned why closure action had not been taken despite the violations being documented.
“We fail to understand as to why despite the above violations having been noted by MPCB, closure order has not been passed till the compliances are made.”
The latest MPCB inspection found four significant violations continuing at the site. These included the absence of mandatory 25-foot-high metal sheets around the project boundary and inadequate water-sprinkling arrangements during the loading and unloading of construction materials.
A representative of L&W Construction disputed allegations that construction was continuing, claiming work had stopped about a month earlier. However, no comment was offered regarding activity reportedly carried out between January and July.
Source: Hindustan Times
