BMC budget a year on: Key projects allocated funds still stuck in limbo

Desalination project

Touted as a panacea for a city grappling to keep up with its own burgeoning water demands, the BMC had floated an ambitious desalination plant at Manori, which sought to treat and filter sea water to produce 200 million litres of potable water daily.

In the previous budget, the BMC estimated a fund of Rs 350 crore for the “200 MLD desalination plant for the augmentation of Mumbai water supply”.

However, a year later, the project is yet to see the light of the day.

Nearly eight months since the proposal was first floated in December 2023, the civic body cancelled its tenders for the project in September 2024, after the invitation drew feeble responses from bidders. According to senior officials, only one bidder applied for the tender, forcing the BMC back to its drawing board to determine the possible causes for the weak response.

Hinting at the possible revival of the proposal, MP from Mumbai (North) Piyush Goyal, who spoke at a press conference early in January, said he has instructed the officials to speed up the process to establish the plant. However, senior BMC officials confirmed that the developments on the desalination project are currently stalled, with the civic body yet to float fresh tenders.

CM Zero Prescription Policy

Amongst the key announcements made during the course of its last budget presentation was the Chief Minister’s Zero Prescription Policy, which was proposed to eliminate the necessity for patients to purchase medications outside the hospitals.

In its budget, the BMC earmarked a fund of Rs 500 crore for the implementation of the policy for FY 2024- 25, while an overall estimation of over Rs  1,200 was proposed for the procurement of generic medicines.

Even as the BMC had announced that the policy was set to come into force across the city’s hospitals from April 1, 2024, patients are yet to avail the benefits of the scheme with its implementation being delayed.

While the delay was first attributed to the elections’ model code of conduct, delayed procurement of medicines alongside transfers of the additional municipal commissioner (health), municipal commissioner etc., according to sources, have nudged the policy to the back burner.

However, speaking during the recent centenary celebrations at KEM hospital, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reiterated the need for the zero prescription policy, directing officials to expedite its process.

The announcement of the project last year had drawn a mixed bag of reactions, as the programme’s viability had been extended only to residents of Mumbai and excluded patients from outside the city. When the former civic chief had announced that patients from outside would be “charged double”, health activists and politicians slammed the decision, deeming it discriminatory and “anti-poor”.

Aqua gallery

Proposed to come up in the same vicinity as the humboldt penguin enclosure at Byculla Zoo, the BMC had last year revived its project to develop an aqua gallery here. “Works of Aqua Gallery and internal road network will be executed in 2024-2025,” said the civic body, during last year’s budget document unveiling, adding that tender works for the same were in the process.

The civic body had in March 2024 floated a tender for the establishment of the aquarium, which would be built like an underwater tunnel to provide an unhindered 180-degree view of aquatic life.

However, so far, the work on the project has seen no development while the tender has drawn responses from only two bidders. Recently, Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh also wrote to civic chief Bhushan Gagrani, calling for the tender to be scrapped. Citing irregularities including a safety hazard to people, inadequate bidders and poor planning by the BMC, Shaikh demanded that the aquarium be relocated to the Mafatlal Mill land instead.

The aqua gallery’s construction has been mired in controversy. Even though the project has now been revived, it was previously shelved to make way for a bigger aquarium at Worli, which had been proposed by former state tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray in 2022.

In its revived proposal, the BMC plans to develop the aquarium comprising two walk through tunnels at a cost of Rs 65 crore.

Construction of Coastal Road’s north package, GMLR road

Set to be executed by the Bridges department, the BMC, in its budget estimates last year, allocated Rs 1,870 crore for the Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR), while the Mumbai Coastal Project Road’s North package, which links Versova to Dahisar, drew Rs 1,130 crore. These projects accounted for the lion’s share of last year’s budget provision for the bridges department.

With the civic body is currently working on procuring prerequisite approvals, most of which have been secured, the full-fledged construction work on the projects is yet to take off. Senior officials, however, said work on both projects is likely to kick off this year.

While the second phase of the Coastal Road has received all environmental nods, the project now awaits a ratification from the High Court over the mangrove plantations, which has induced delays on the ground work. “After we receive the permission, we will launch works on the project,” said a senior official.

The full-fledged construction of the GMLR’s 6.5-km twin tunnels — which will course beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and boost east-west connectivity — will also commence later this year. According to senior civic officials, the TBM machine is expected to arrive from China by March, following which it will be assembled in the vicinity and later used for launching of the tunnels by April.