Mumbai: Opposition trashes civic body’s 91 per cent nullah cleaning claim

Desilting work in progress at Dahisar ahead of the monsoon. Pic/Satej Shinde

Opposition corporators have cited the flooding during Cyclone Tauktae to discredit the BMC's claim of near-completion of nullah cleaning across the city. Calling the work unscientific, they have cast doubts over the actual work by the civic administration.

The corporation has said that 91 per cent of the clearing of drains has happened so far. The civic body spends around R150 crore on the work every year.

Mumbai has a 248-km network of major drains that are wider than 5 metres and 421 km of minor nullah. This apart, a 20-km stretch of Mithi river is cleared to minimise flooding in the city during the monsoon.

Civic contractors are supposed to clear 70 per cent silt before May end. The second part is executed during the rainy months and the last leg is taken up after the monsoon. The corporators said many areas of Mumbai were inundated just 10 days ago when, going by the BMC's claims, close to 70 per cent of desilting of nullah was over.

"Last year, the BMC claimed 113 per cent of cleaning of nullahs. Even then, many parts were waterlogged for more than 17 hours. Even during Tauktae, many areas got flooded. The administration is just manipulating numbers. Why don't they tell exactly how many tons of slit have been cleaned and where it was dumped? Where is the vehicle tracking system?" asked Prabhakar Shinde, group leader of BJP.

Also Read: Nullah cleaning should be round-the-year activity

Rais Shaikh, corporator and Samajwadi Party MLA, also raked up the cyclone to target the corporation. "Many nullahs are still clogged with tonnes of trash. I am sure the low-lying areas in the city will face the same issue again in this monsoon," he said.

"Now the administration claims over 90 per cent cleaning. The truth will come out within a few weeks," said Ravi Raja, leader of the opposition. He added that the process needs to be more scientific and the BMC should try to keep nullahs clean throughout the year.

Sources said the BMC doesn't have a standard procedure for cleaning drains nor does it maintain a record of the quantity of silt removed from various stretches of nullahs. This gap often creates a lot of ambiguity and leads to accusations of mismanagement.

248 Km
Length of major drains in the city

Rs 150 cr
Approx annual budget for nullah cleaning