BMC goes around central body for Mahul pump house

Love Grove pumping station in Worli. File pic

The Mahul pumping station still seems far, as the BMC is currently in dilemma over filing an appeal against the inclusion of the land, which was supposed to be exchanged with a private owner for the project, under no development zone by the coastal zone management authority. As an appeal could take months to years to get resolved, the civic body is mulling over other options too.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is in hurry to build this long-pending project which will resolve the flooding issues at Dadar, Sion, Wadala, Matunga, King's Circle areas and will also ensure better services on the Harbour line during monsoon.

As the land which was earlier proposed for Mahul pumping station was with the salt commissioner, the BMC had sought the land, but did not get any response in eight years. Last year, the civic body decided to go ahead with the project and found a private land adjacent to Mahul nullah. The BMC had proposed to give one of its own land parcels to private developer Ajmera Realty and Infrastructure India Ltd in the exchange of the plot and the process started accordingly. However, the project again hit a roadblock when the BMC plot was included in the new map of CRZ II land.

Love Grove pumping station at Worli, which was proposed along with the Mahul one and six others by the Chitale committee, is already commissioned. File pic

"The maps are published and if anyone has any suggestions or objections over the inclusion or exclusion of land from CRZ then they can go for an appeal in the authority. After the discussion the issue may be resolved within two months," said an expert.

While the BMC has the option to file an appeal, it will likely take a long time to be resolved. "The appeal and the process thereafter may take months or years. We need to construct the pumping station on an urgent basis, so we are considering other options. Besides, the decision for appeal has to be taken at a senior level," said an official from the development plan department which has the responsibility to acquire the land.

Once the land is acquired, the stormwater department will start the construction and the tender process for it has already kicked off. The process of appointing an agency for construction of the pumping station at Mahul started in December 2021 and the civic body had set a deadline of 24 months. The plant with a capacity to drain 54 cubic metre water per second may cost around Rs 350 crore.

BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said the work is in progress. We are trying to resolve the issue.

After the July 26, 2005 flooding, the Chitale committee proposed eight pumping stations to solve the issue during the high tide and heavy rain. Out of these eight stations Haji Ali, Irla (Juhu), Love Grove (Worli), Cleveland Bunder (Worli), Britannia (Reay Road) and Gajdharbandh (Khardanda) are already commissioned while the contract for Mogra (Santacruz) was awarded in 2021.

Dec 2021
Month when the process to appoint an agency began