BJP leaders say not halfway through pre-monsoon desilting target, BMC says 78% done

“Desilting work at Gazdar Bandh nallah (Santacruz) started today with deployment of JCB and removal of piles of waste. Cleaning of drains at SNDT nullah also commenced recently, as one can see grasses and shrubs growing over the algae floating in the nullah. Therefore, we can asses that around 20-30% of desilting has been completed in general, while BMC claims that 70-80% of the task is complete,” said Shelar.

“It appears that contractors are manipulating figures. Despite the administrator’s rule in BMC, we will ensure that whoever has been negligent will be held responsible,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a statement, municipal commissioner and state-appointed administrator, Iqbal Singh Chahal, said that so far 7.68 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of silt has been removed from drains and rivers in Mumbai, which is 78% of the target. Chahal also said that BMC has deployed additional machinery and intends to achieve the full target of its pre-monsoon work before May 31.

“The desilting in Mumbai is being carried out in a meticulous manner, and drains are being cleaned step by step. While some drains are already desilted, work is underway in certain locations. Therefore, the presence of silt in a few specific drains doesn’t imply that work has not been carried out there,” Chahal said.

Chahal added that during their visits, it has been observed that residents dispose their solid waste in drains, which leads to formation of debris and floating material. He said that while that solid waste doesn’t qualify as silt, and desilting doesn’t indicate removal of floating solid waste comprising plastic and thermocol.

“The civic administration has not favoured any contractor. The tender process for desilting was conducted transparently, and work order is issued in the same way,” Chahal said.