The BMC has issued a show-cause notice to the Larsen & Toubro-HCC joint venture executing a section of the Mumbai Coastal Road project after officials allegedly found excavation material from private construction sites being used for backfilling without mandatory transportation permissions.
The civic body has directed the contractor to stop using the material until it obtains clearance from the administration. It has also given the joint venture 72 hours to explain why the material should not be removed at its own cost and why further action should not be initiated.
The notice follows an inspection by the BMC’s solid waste management department on October 1 at the coastal stretch between Haji Ali and PDP Garden. Officials found backfilling work in progress and checked vehicle details and challans associated with the earth being brought to the site.
According to the notice, the material was reportedly sourced from private building construction sites across Mumbai. The developers and transporters concerned had not obtained the required permission from the BMC or the competent authority to transport excavation material. The civic body said this violated the project’s tender conditions, which require filling material to be procured from authorised quarries or other approved sources with valid permissions.
The contractor has been asked to submit documents including the source of the material, valid transportation permissions, royalty challans and geotechnical test reports. It must also provide a statement detailing the quantity of material brought to the site and identify the approved sources from which it was procured.
The notice cites the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules of 2016 and 2025, directions of the Bombay High Court concerning the illegal transportation of earth and debris, and the contractual and technical conditions applicable to the coastal road package. The BMC has warned that failure to provide a satisfactory reply within the stipulated period could lead to further action without another notice.
The action comes days after the BMC launched the Mumbai Debris Control and Tracking System, or MDCTS, to track construction and demolition waste from the point where it is generated to an authorised unloading location. A senior civic official said the system was intended to improve accountability by linking construction and demolition waste to both its source and final destination.
From October 12, the BMC also began imposing a penalty of ₹25,000 per violation on vehicles transporting construction and excavation waste without an authorised and active tracking system. The civic body has separately instructed its officials to act against private developers found transporting construction and demolition material without the required permissions.
The contractor’s response will determine the next step in the case. An L&T spokesperson said the joint venture had received the notice from the BMC’s solid waste management department and that compliance with applicable rules, permissions and contract conditions was a priority. The company said it remained committed to resolving the matter promptly and delivering the project to the required standards.
