Navi Mumbai: Residents and environmental groups complained of continued blasting at an alleged illegal stone quarry behind the Tata Cancer Hospital and at a builder’s construction site near Utsav Chowk on the Kharghar hill range.The National Green Tribunal’s Western Zonal Bench is scheduled to hear the matter. Residents said they were jolted by powerful blasts, particularly at night and during heavy monsoon downpours, and alleged the activity continued despite the chief minister’s intervention and concerns over public health and environmental damage.The NatConnect Foundation, Swarnsrishti Habitat Restoration Foundation and Save Kharghar Ecology Forum petitioned CM Devendra Fadnavis, seeking an immediate halt to all blasting and hill-cutting activities. The representation said quarry blasts continued behind the Tata Memorial Centre’s Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), while another hill face near Utsav Chowk was repeatedly blasted for a real estate project, accelerating the destruction of the contiguous hill stretch.The CM referred the representation to the urban development department secretary for appropriate action more than a week ago, but residents said the blasting continued. The quarrying issue was already before the NGT, which took suo motu cognisance of media reports stating the impact of mining activity on cancer patients and the surrounding environment.Pursuant to the Tribunal’s directions, ACTREC filed an affidavit stating that dust generated by the stone-mining activity frequently exceeded permissible limits and posed respiratory hazards to patients undergoing chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. ACTREC said repeated blasting generated vibrations capable of damaging hospital buildings and disrupting highly sensitive equipment such as Proton Beam Therapy systems, radiotherapy accelerators and advanced research instruments that require vibration-free conditions.ACTREC also cautioned that quarry runoff carrying suspended particles and possible chemical contaminants could adversely affect surface water within the campus. The Tribunal constituted a Joint Committee comprising officials of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, Raigad Collectorate, Directorate of Geology and Mining and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to inspect the site, determine whether illegal mining took place, assess its impact on the hospital and recommend remedial measures.In a submission before the Tribunal, the Raigad collector stated that no quarrying permission was granted since 2020-21, although six stone-crusher units continued to operate on earlier permissions. Residents and environmentalists said the continuing blasts raised questions about the nature of the ongoing excavation.“We welcomed the CM’s prompt response in referring our representation to the urban development department. Yet the blasting continues almost every day from two different locations on the same hill range. The administration must explain how this is being allowed when the matter is before the NGT and the district administration itself has stated that no quarrying permission exists,” said B N Kumar, director of the NatConnect.Jyoti Nadkarni, director of the Swarnsrishti Habitat Restoration Foundation, said continuous hill blasting during the monsoon could destabilise slopes, increase landslide risks and permanently damage natural drainage systems. “These hills are part of Navi Mumbai’s ecological infrastructure. Once destroyed, they cannot be recreated,” she said.Residents lived in fear as explosions echoed across Kharghar day and night, said Jyoti Nair, convener of the Save Kharghar Ecology Forum. “Instead of restoring hills already scarred by quarrying, another section is being blasted for construction. We are watching an entire hill range disappear before our eyes,” she said.