The authorities at the Tata Memorial Centre in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, have written to the Maharashtra government, alleging that uncontrolled and illicit stone quarrying on a nearby hill is not only causing structural damage to their facility but also endangering the lives of patients, reported news agency PTI.

Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, the Director of the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research & Education in Cancer (ACTREC), widely known as the Tata Memorial Centre, raised these concerns in a letter addressed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on 10 July.

His letter stated, "I am writing to express deep concern over the escalating noise and dust pollution caused by unregulated stone quarrying adjacent to the Tata Memorial Centre-ACTREC in Kharghar. The northwest hill near our cancer treatment facility has been severely impacted with multiple pits excavated and green cover obliterated. Blasting with explosives, followed by intensive drilling, generates deafening noise and toxic dust clouds, jeopardising both patient health and our fragile environment."