Malabar Hill reservoir findings: BMC asks IIT Bombay to review panel report, submit final recommendations

The final report is slated to cover all aspects of the project, including hydraulics, besides the issue of construction and repairs.

Confirming the development, Velrasu told Express, “We have asked IIT Bombay to go through the report shared by the expert panel and then, submit their final report. The findings of this final report will be able to conclude the current status of the reservoir.”

Last year, the civic body had inducted an eight-member panel — comprising four IIT professors, three local representatives with expertise on technical subjects as well as a senior BMC official — in a bid to determine the reservoir’s structural integrity after the BMC’s plan to reconstruct the century-old reservoir was met with fierce opposition from the residents. Amongst various reasons, the local residents and activists had raised a hue and cry over the proposed project as it was slated to impact 389 trees.

Following deliberations as well as inspections of the reservoir carried out in two phases on separate days, some members of the panel stated that the reservoir was in repairable condition and required no demolition.

Last week, Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha also echoed the panel’s interim findings and upheld that the Malabar Hill reservoir doesn’t need to be demolished or reconstructed.

“The expert’s committee has suggested that the reservoir doesn’t need to be reconstructed. However, one of the chambers inside the reservoir may require some repair work for the basic wear and tear that the structure has suffered. For this, we may have to construct a new tank temporarily to ensure the supply chain is not affected,” Lodha told reporters, adding that the repair would impact only 20 – 30 trees.