With Mumbai currently reeling under a water cut owing to a dip in stock in the seven lakes that supply water to the megapolis, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to revive the plan to build a dam at Gargai Pinjal in Palghar, a project it had shelved in 2019 in a bid to prevent deforestation, and has written to the district collector of Chandrapur to initiate the process for transferring land for aforestation to the forest authorities so that the project can take off. Besides, the civic body has also decided to set up a desalination plant in Manori, outside Mumbai, to address the concerns around the city’s water requirement.
At present, Mumbai requires 4,200 MLD of water daily; However, the civic authorities are able to supply only 3,850 MLD. For filling the deficit, the civic authorities in 2015 had mooted a proposal to build a dam in Gargai in Palghar district. However, in 2019 the project was scrapped as the dam was supposed to be built over 1,100 hectares of forest land, which would require cutting and transplantation of nearly 4.5 lakh trees. With the city reeling under water cut, the civic body has now decided to revive the plan and has tabled its proposal for it. The civic body has also mooted a proposal to set up a desalination plant in Manori, which would filter and treat the saline water of the Arabian Sea to make it fit for potable use.
Gargai Dam project: Where it stands now?
The ambitious project was first conceived in 2015 and was backed by then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The project involves building a network of four dams with two dams each in the Gargai-Pinjal and Damanganga-Pinjal river links in Palghar district.
The project was later scrapped during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government owing to ecological concerns, but it was revived last year after the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis-led government came to power.
Since the project would require cutting of 4.5 lakh trees, the BMC had also proposed compensatory afforestation at a land parcel in Chandrapur district of eastern Maharashtra.
The BMC recently wrote to the district collector of Chandrapur to initiate the process for transferring the land to the forest authorities.
“The land parcel where we intend to do compensatory afforestation is currently owned by the Collectorate and they need to transfer it so that trees could be planted there. They have already written to us stating that the work of measurement of the perimeter and physical assessment could be started, provided we pay required charges in return,” Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner (Projects), told The Indian Express.
He also said that the BMC has also written to the Palghar Collectorate seeking acquisition of the land under the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. He also added that the BMC has paid a deposit amount to the forest department for a fresh tree survey in Gargai considering its closeness. Proximity to the Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary.
The entire project is expected to augment the water supply of Mumbai by 865 MLD (Million Liters Per Day) initially. By 2050, the overall supply will increase by 2,800 MLD, officials said.
Back in 2016, the civic body planned a Rs 3,100 crore budget for this project. The BMC aimed to hit the operations running by 2025. However, officials said it will take the BMC at least six more years to finish the Gargai Dam project if they take up the work immediately.
Desalination plant: BMC’s ambitious plan to make sea water potable
Alongside the Gargai Dam, the BMC is also pursuing its plan of constructing a desalination plant in Manori.
The civic body in December last year had floated a Rs 3,520 crore tender for setting up the plant. The plant is expected to produce 200 million liters of potable water per day by treating seawater, which will be increased to 400 million liters at a later stage.
However, nearly six months since the tenders were first floated, the deadline of closing the tenders was pushed multiple times.
Bangar told Express that the final dates for closing the project have been fixed for July 9. “After the tender was floated we have been receiving technical queries from the bidders, which have affected the bidding responses that we are receiving. At present, several companies including global players have shown their interest in building the plant and we are hopeful that the tender could be closed by next month,” he said.
Out of the firms that have shown interest some of them are Israel-based IDE Technologies and Paris-based Suez Group.
The idea of setting up this plant in Mumbai is based on the existing desalination plants in Israel. In 2021, the civic body also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an Israeli firm for creating a Detailed Project Report of this plant and officials said the report has already been submitted to the BMC in the last quarter of 2022.
In 2022, the BMC earmarked a 12-hectare land at Manori village, a seaside hamlet in the northernmost end of suburban Mumbai, for setting up this plant. According to the BMC’s blueprint, this eco-friendly plant would operate throughout the year. The approximate cost of water procured will be 4-5 paisa per liter. “We are pursuing the two projects with intent since they will be the ultimate solution to tackle the growing needs of the city’s water supply which is increasing every year,” Bangar said.
Mumbai’s current water crisis
Being an island city surrounded by sea from three sides, Mumbai does not have any natural source of fresh water to quench its daily needs. As a result, the city’s daily water is supplied from seven lakes — Tansa, Bhatsa, Modak Sagat, Tulsi, Vihar, Upper Vaitarna and Middle Vaitarna.
The lakes are located in the districts of Thane, Palghar and Nashik and every year, during the monsoon the catchment areas of these lakes get filled following which the water is supplied in households and commercial entities through pipelines.
This year, the water levels in all the seven lakes hit the lowest mark in the past three years, with the overall stock standing at 5.43% on Saturday morning. From June 5, onwards the BMC had implemented a 10% cut in daily water usage.