The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) standing committee on Wednesday raised questions regarding a Rs 14 crore tender that was floated for the maintenance of a ‘non-existing’ garden and promenade adjoining the banks of the Mithi River between Kurla and Mahim.
“Last week, when a site visit was carried out, we found out that the garden which they are proposing to maintain doesn’t exist. The entire land parcel has been illegally encroached. Therefore, it outrightly shows that the tender is nothing but a scam,” Deepmala Bhade, Shiv Sena UBT corporator and member of the standing committee, told The Indian Express.
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Bhade said that following her opposition, the committee chairperson blocked clearance of the proposal.
“The BMC’s rule also states that there should be a minimum 10-meter buffer between a water body or water supply pipeline. However, in this case, we have noticed that the buffer is not being maintained as the Mithi bank is entirely encroached by slum dwellers and instead of making efforts to move them, the BMC is floating these ambiguous tenders,” Bhade added.
The civic standing committee has sent the proposal back to the authorities for revision. Committee chairperson Prabhakar Shinde has sought a detailed reply to the queries raised by Opposition members if the proposal is to be tabled again.
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In 2022, the civic authorities floated a Rs 2,100 crore tender to beautify the bank of the Mithi River. As part of the plan, the authorities aimed to develop an 8.5km-long cycle track along the promenade, along with open spaces and embankments.
Meanwhile, the standing committee Wednesday passed a Rs 30 crore proposal for desilting the 18 km-long Mithi River.
The entire 18 km stretch of the Mithi River is being divided into three stretches or packages. The first package comprises the longest stretch of 11.8 km from Vihar Lake Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) to Teacher’s Colony (Bandra East), covering the Vakola and Kalina areas that are low-lying in nature. The second stretch of 1.3 km largely covers the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area. While the final stretch covers a length of 4.7 km from Dharavi to Mahim, before draining into the Arabian Sea.
Mithi River flows a distance of 18 km before discharging into the Arabian Sea. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
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