With daily demand far outstripping supply, key projects like Gargai dam await land acquisition, clearances, and tenders while older neighbourhoods grapple with dry taps each summer
The proposed site of the Gargai dam in Palghar district, about 110 km away from Mumbai. Pic/Ranjeet Jadhav
Despite Mumbai facing water cuts during the last three summers and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation demanding water from reserved stock this year, no water supply project has come up in the city in the past nine years. While the Gargai project in Palghar district will take at least four to five years to be completed, the civic body’s ambitious desalination project is in limbo.
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According to civic records, the Gargai project first came up for discussion among officials in 2012, and the civic body started making preparations for it six years later. The BMC is yet to get clearance for the project from the environment department. “Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis held a review meeting for the Gargai project. In this meeting, the topic of the clearance of the environment was discussed. We are hoping that we will get all clearance soon,” said Abhijit Bangar.
The Middle Vaitarna is the last water supply project which was commissioned in 2014. The current need of the city is 4550 million litres of water daily, while the city gets only 3950 million litres. The estimated cost of the Gargai project is R5000 crore while the city will get 440 million litres of water. The dam is located in Wada Tehsil in Palghar district.
According to a civic official, getting an environmental clearance will take at least six months. After that, the construction of the dam will take four years. Currently, we need permission for the shifting of forest land, also shifting affected villages. Around 840 hectares of area will be affected by the dam and BMC needs to purchase 426 hectares of land. Also, 619 families will be affected by this dam.
“The desalination project was introduced during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and added to BMC’s agenda. However, since there was no response to the tender, the BMC has now decided to bring in another consultancy firm to conduct a survey and draft a fresh tender,” said a civic official.
In the first phase, the plan was to set up a desalination plant with a capacity of 200 million litres, which could later be expanded beyond that. Civic activist Anil Gagali criticised the delay, saying, “This is typical of how the BMC works. After completing the Middle Vaitarna project in 2014, they should have immediately started work on the Gargai project. But even after nine years, they’re still waiting for approval while pollution in the city keeps getting worse. Why didn’t they begin work on it back when Middle Vaitarna was underway?”
Sanjay Gurav, a civic activist from South Mumbai, added, “Old buildings in the island city regularly face water shortages during summer. The city can’t even meet the existing demand. Many parts of Mumbai are undergoing redevelopment, which increases water requirements. Yet, we’re still relying on outdated sources.”
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