Mumbai: BMC to focus on Gargai dam

Gargai dam site at Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary. FILE PIC/RANJEET JADHAV

As the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) hasn't received a response from companies for the desalination project at Manori, the civic body has started to focus on the Gargai dam - 84 km to the northwest of Mumbai in Palghar district. However, the BMC is falling short of nearly 171 hectare of land to compensate the forest department and so it is considering the purchase of land from a private owner.

As per the latest plan, the dam will affect a total of 814 hectare of land, including 557 hectare of forest land that will be submerged. "As per the forest department order, BMC needs to compensate with 659 hectare of forest land. The state government has agreed to give 488 hectare of land in Chandrapur for forest rehabilitation. The survey of this land was completed last week," said an official.

However, the official said there was still a shortage of nearly 171 hectare to be handed over to the forest department. "If we do not get land from the state government or state government agencies, we need to find privately owned land for handover," the official added. Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner, said, "The survey of 488 hectare of land in Chandrapur was completed last week. The further process will start soon."

The civic body has been trying for over a decade to start the long-pending Gargai dam project, which could add around 440 million litres per day (MLD) of water to the current supply of 3,850 MLD to the city. The city currently needs more than 4,500 MLD of water, with this requirement expected to reach 5,000 MLD in the next few years. The project will come up in the Tansa sanctuary in Palghar district.

The process to rehabilitate 619 families who will be affected by the project has started. "The Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra has agreed to give us 400 hectare of land near Wada-Manor Road for their rehabilitation," Bangar said. Sources from the BMC said that as it hasn't been able to get a response to the global tender for the desalination project for almost eight months, they have decided to focus on the Gargai dam till the final decision on the desalination project comes.

"We need to talk with a consultant about the desalination project. First, we need to understand why we did not get a response for the global tender and then we can decide on the next move," Bangar added. As per civic documents, BMC will connect the Gargai dam with the Modak Sagar dam using a water tunnel. Water will lifted from Modak Sagar dam so there won't be a need to develop a new network for Gargai dam.

The plan was first chalked out in 2012, with an estimated cost of Rs 1,820 crore. In the estimate for 2020, the cost had risen to Rs 3,100 crore. The BMC has cancelled the desalination project tender worth Rs 3,500 crore. Only one company participated in the process. According to the tender, BMC is going to develop a desalination plant at Manori to treat 200 MLD of water, which can extend to more than 200 MLD. BMC first invited a tender in December 2023. After Congress raised a few queries, BMC cancelled the tender and invited bids again. In 8 months BMC extended the date of the tender submission four times.