HPCL's Refinery Gamble Raises Alarm in Crowded Mumbai Suburb: A Dangerous Game

MUMBAI, India - May 3, 2025 - PRLog -- Indianpetroplus.com reports that HPCL floated tenders for its ₹5,460 crore Lube Modernization and Bottom Up-gradation project in Mahul before securing final environmental clearance — raising serious concerns in one of Mumbai's most polluted and densely populated zones.
While the project involves no increase in crude processing, it introduces new units at the 9.5 MMTPA Mumbai Refinery, including an Integrated Hydrocracker, Solvent De-asphalting Unit, and Hydrogen Recovery System, to produce higher-value products like Group II/III base oils and bitumen.
The proposal was initially returned by the Ministry of Environment's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), citing gaps in risk assessment, air quality modelling, flood preparedness, and greenbelt design. A revised EIA was later submitted and approved — but only after tenders had already been floated.
"In a pollution hotspot like Mahul, environmental clearance should come before commercial steps," a senior industry expert told Indianpetroplus.com.

Mahul: An Urban Pressure Zone
Mahul is designated a "critically polluted area" by the Central Pollution Control Board. It has over 25,000 people per sq km, with PAP townships exceeding 1,300 tenements per hectare — double the National Building Code's limit. Residents relocated here have long reported respiratory and skin problems. The area is surrounded by chemical plants and refineries, and lacks proper drainage, schools, and hospitals.
In 2018, the National Green Tribunal ordered a review of Mahul's habitability. Yet it continues to house thousands despite well-documented environmental and public health risks.

Tender Timing Raises Questions
The EIA itself admits pollution levels will rise post-upgradation, though within regulatory limits. But critics argue the sequencing — tenders first, clearance later — sends the wrong message.

"Once tenders are floated, commercial momentum builds," the Indianpetroplus report notes. "In Mahul, that's not just premature — it's potentially dangerous."
With final clearance now granted, the focus shifts to civic and environmental monitoring to ensure responsible project execution in a fragile and densely inhabited zone.

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