Brookfield under fire for Powai hill-cutting above Chitraarth Studios

Mumbai: Powai’s hillside is once again under the scanner after a fresh video surfaced on Thursday showing large-scale excavation above Chitraarth Studios in Hiranandani Gardens, with local residents directly accusing Brookfield Properties of “destroying the Powai hill” in the name of redevelopment.

The two-minute clip, shot on November 27 and shared on X by local activist Kanaya Pursnani (@kanayapursnani), shows JCBs cutting into the slope above the studio, loose soil and rocks piled up on steep gradients, labour sheds packed close to the digging zone and thick dust drifting toward residential areas and Powai Lake.

Video shows fresh cuts on hill, no visible safeguards

@CMOMaharashtra@PMOIndia@mybmc@mybmcWardS@Brookfield is destroying the powai hill above Chitraarth studios Hiranandani . Requesting to take immediate action against this blatant flouting the norms. pic.twitter.com/RlwjpozyHW

— Kanayapursnani Pürsnani (@kanayapursnani) November 27, 2025

In the video, the camera pans across a stripped, reddish hillside behind Hiranandani’s towers. Excavators are seen carving out long trenches and scooping earth into mounds, with no safety nets, dust-suppression measures or retaining structures visible.

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Blue-tarpaulin shanties that appear to house labourers sit just metres from the work area. The slope drops towards densely populated Chandivali and the Powai Lake belt.

Residents say the dust has become a daily nuisance, forcing families to keep windows shut and making outdoor activity difficult for children and the elderly.

Activists claim some of the new cuts are several metres wide and deep and run along the hill for a few hundred metres, similar to the excavation pattern that triggered police action earlier this year.

“This is not maintenance. This is systematic hill-cutting,” one local resident told NewsDrum, requesting anonymity.

Old FIR, new video, same hill

The latest visuals come barely four months after Powai Police registered an FIR on July 11, 2025, against Hiranandani Builders & Developers Pvt Ltd under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act for unauthorised excavation on the same hill zone near the Hiranandani helipad.

That case followed a July 3 complaint to BMC’s L Ward about a roughly 300-metre trench that had been dug along the hill, heavy soil erosion and tree felling. When civic officials inspected the site, they reportedly found felled trees, loose boulders rolling downhill towards informal settlements and no permissions on display.

At the time, the developer dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and described the activity as routine upkeep. Residents say the new video shows that despite the FIR, excavation has resumed at pace, now linked to ongoing redevelopment and expansion by Brookfield Properties.

Brookfield under fire over Downtown Powai, mall plan

Brookfield, which has become one of the biggest commercial landlords in the area through its “Downtown Powai” portfolio, is now at the centre of local anger.

The Canada-headquartered group controls a cluster of office buildings in Hiranandani Gardens and, through its India REIT and subsidiaries, has acquired additional land and FSI rights over the past few years to expand its footprint.

A 2025 deal involving its arm Moon Holdings and Supreme Infrastructure added a prime six-acre parcel and FSI rights to its Powai holdings.

Residents allege the current ground-cutting above Chitraarth Studios is linked to Brookfield’s expansion and mall redevelopment plans, including the controversial conversion of the older Citi Park into a larger retail complex. That project has faced court challenges and sustained protests since 2023 from flat-owners and citizen groups worried about traffic, dust and strain on already-cramped infrastructure.

In his post, Pursnani names Brookfield as the primary beneficiary of the excavation and accuses the company of “destroying the Powai hill for more glass towers and a mall”.

Brookfield, which frequently highlights sustainability and community initiatives in its communication, including the “Powai Run”, has not yet publicly responded to the latest video. NewsDrum’s request for a comment emailed to the company remained unanswered at the time of publication.

Citizens say pollution, landslide risk rising

Residents and citizen groups say the environmental impact of continuous digging is visible on the ground.

They claim Powai’s AQI has worsened sharply this season, blaming construction dust from multiple sites, and say local clinics have reported a rise in complaints of respiratory distress and asthma, especially among children and senior citizens.

Activists also point out that the hill acts as a natural buffer, absorbing rainwater and reducing runoff into the low-lying belts around Chandivali and Powai Lake.

Continuous cutting, they warn, destabilises the slope and increases the risk of landslides and siltation during heavy monsoon showers.

“The same concerns were flagged years ago,” a member of the Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association said, referring to an old MPCB report on hill-cutting and stone-crushing activity in the area that had warned of soil instability and environmental damage.

“Nothing has changed. Only the scale of construction has gone up,” the member said.

Long-running fight with builders, slow response from authorities

Local groups like Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association and independent activists have been flagging Powai hill-cutting and tree loss for years, often sharing photos and videos of bare slopes and loose stones rolling towards homes.

They say the July FIR was a rare acknowledgement of violations, but call it inadequate, pointing out that tree-felling charges were not fully reflected and that no visible deterrent seems to have followed.

On X, activists such as Sahana (@Sahanasatianaat) have tagged BMC, Powai Police, the MPCB and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, drawing attention to what they describe as “ecological destruction barely 2 km from IIT Bombay”.

The discontent is not limited to environment-focused groups. Many Hiranandani flat-owners have opposed the proposed mall and have threatened legal action, arguing the new build will worsen congestion and pollution in an already saturated neighbourhood.

The Supreme Court’s August 2025 clearance for nearly 500 stalled real estate projects across Mumbai and Pune was welcomed by builders’ lobbies but raised fresh worries among environmentalists about the pace of construction in sensitive zones.

BMC’s temporary halts on construction in high-pollution periods have been criticised as piecemeal when hill-cutting continues on the ground.

Calls for MPCB, NGT intervention

With the new video now in circulation, citizens are demanding immediate inspection by the MPCB and BMC’s environment and building departments, and, if needed, a stop-work order from the NGT until permissions, slope stability and mitigation measures are independently verified.

“This site needs to be examined by neutral experts, not just routine ward staff. We need to know what permissions exist, what the original hill profile was, and what checks are in place to prevent landslides and flooding,” said an activist.

The clip shared by Pursnani may currently have limited views, but the issues it highlights are not new for Powai residents: dust, noise, falling green cover and a sense that hills which once anchored the landscape are being chipped away plot by plot.

For now, the machines continue to work above Chitraarth Studios, even as citizens push for the site to be brought under tight regulatory scrutiny.

NewsDrum is sending this report to the BMC, MPCB and the offices of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister for their response. Readers living in and around Powai and Chandivali can share ground reports, photographs and videos with us at info@newsdrum.in, so that the scale of the activity and its impact can be documented in full.