BMC to build Rs 3000 crore dam on Gargai river; how will it benefit Mumbaikars?

“The river valley at the selected site is narrow, which will require us to maintain a minimum dam length. The catchment area at the selected site is also nearly 110 square km. The dam has been proposed to augment water supply in Mumbai. From the proposed Gargai dam reservoir water shall be transferred to Modak Sagar reservoir via a 1.6-km long water conveyance tunnel that will be dug across the hillock located between the two reservoirs,” the tender document stated.

Besides construction of the dam, the BMC has also stated that a permanent guest house and auditorium will also be constructed around the periphery along with an office and administrative building for employees.

The document also stated that for the proposed project, 3.1 lakh trees will be affected. Further, out of the 844 hectares of land that has been cleared for the project, nearly 652 hectares comprises forest area of the Tansa land sanctuary. Earlier this year, the BMC had acquired clearances from National Wildlife Board, Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) as well as the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM), which were necessary before floating the tenders.

“Before going ahead with the civil works, we will have to acquire clearances from the Union environment ministry since a large number of trees will be cut. The project is necessary for Mumbai’s existing civic infrastructure since it will boost water supply by a large extent and considering the serious growth of population in Mumbai, a major boost in water supply is required,” said an official.

The civic authorities stated they have already acquired large parcels of land for carrying out compensatory planting for the lost trees. These trees are located in Chandrapur district and are owned by the collector’s office. The official stated that the demarcation of the plot was completed last year.

When the project was announced 10 years ago, the BMC had stated that the dam will be operational by 2025. However, the project went on the back burner after the Uddhav Thackeray led-Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government came to power in 2019. The Thackeray-led government had temporarily scrapped the project citing environmental concerns.

Why is the Gargai project important?

The entire project is expected to augment the water supply of Mumbai by 450 MLD (Million Litres Per Day) initially. By 2050, the overall supply will increase by 2,800 MLD, since the larger plan is to create a network of four dams. Mumbai’s daily demand for water usage stands at 4,200 MLD, while the BMC is able to release only 3,850 MLD. The authorities stated that once the clearances have been secured and civil work has begun it will take six years to complete the project.