BMC: Won’t compromise on expansion of Love Grove sewage plant

“After the deluge of July 2005 and as per the assurance given by the respondent no 3 (BMC) to the Bombay High Court… it is required to carry out time-bound implementation of Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project (MSDP) involving expansion of Love Grove Sewage Pumping Works…” states the BMC’s latest affidavit submitted to the court.

Slumdwellers from VJN and two adjoining societies,Jeevan Jyot Nagar and Shree Swami Vivekanand,had challenged the corporation’s expansion plan,under which they will be accommodated in high rises to be constructed on the plot where VJN stands,thus clearing the rest of the area for the plant’s expansion.

The affidavit that was tendered to the court by BMC’s counsel E P Bharucha stated that of the 35,775.58 sq m occupied by the slums on E Moses Road,25,433 sq m will be required for the MSDP-II project,which would leave about 10,342 sq m for the construction of buildings under the slum rehabilitation scheme.

Supporting its decision for composite rehabilitation of the slumdwellers,the affidavit filed by R H Chaukkar,BMC’s executive engineer,states,“If the rehabilitation is not done in a composite manner,nearly 2,515 families will be dislocated from the said land and respondent no 3 does not have any alternative provision to relocate the said slumdwellers in and around the locality.”

Apart from not having the slumdwellers’ consent,the petitioners alleged that the corporation had not sought the necessary environmental clearances for the project. Bharucha,however,submitted to the court that as the owners of the land,they did not need the permission of slumdwellers for development of the plot.

Based on the report prepared by Mott MacDonald and R V Anderson Associates,the BMC had initiated the project because the 1979 Master Plan only covered the period up to 2004. With the rise in construction activities in south and central Mumbai,the outflow of sewage through the Love Grove station will also increase,the BMC stated,adding that the expansion project has a planning horizon up to 2025.

“The main goal of the project is to provide a healthier and improved environment for people living in the city while minimising the impact of waste water on natural environment,” it said.