The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has issued a notice to Larsen & Toubro for allegedly using debris from private construction sites to fill land along the southern stretch of the Mumbai Coastal Road, where the parcels are intended to become gardens and public open spaces.
The disputed land lies between Haji Ali and Priyadarshini Park. According to the civic notice, the material used for the filling work was brought from private building construction sites instead of being sourced from authorised stone quarries and approved suppliers, as required under BMC solid waste management rules and the project’s tender conditions.
The alleged violation was identified during a routine inspection of the site. The notice said that, after checking challans and vehicles, civic officials found that the earth and excavation material being used for the filling activities had been transported from private construction sites.
“On enquiry and verification of challans and vehicles, it was revealed that the earth/excavation materials used for carrying out filling activities are being brought from private building construction sites,” the notice said.
The BMC further stated that the tender conditions required all filling material to be procured from authorised quarries and approved sources with valid permissions. “Therefore using unauthorised items for filling work is a violation of contract,” the notice said.
The civic body has asked L&T to respond and explain the alleged violation. The notice, as reported by The Indian Express, does not indicate the quantity of material used, the period over which it was transported or whether the filling work has been ordered to stop.
The issue concerns land created as part of the 10.58-km Coastal Road project, which was opened to the public in March 2024. The project involved reclaiming 111 hectares from the Arabian Sea. Of that area, around 40 hectares has been used for roads, interchanges and bridges, while approximately 70 hectares consists of land parcels planned for gardens and other public open spaces.
The use of construction debris in such land has implications for both contract compliance and the planned development of the reclaimed parcels. BMC rules cited in the notice distinguish between material sourced through authorised quarrying channels and debris generated at private construction sites.
In August 2025, the BMC appointed Reliance Infrastructure Limited to develop and maintain the gardens along the Coastal Road. The notice to L&T now places attention on the condition and provenance of material being used to prepare portions of the land before those public spaces are developed.
The immediate next step is L&T’s reply to the BMC, after which the civic body will determine the action to be taken in relation to the alleged contract and solid waste management violations.
