MUMBAI:
In a bid to fast-track Gargai dam project which will provide the city with extra 465 million litres per day of water, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has asked the state government to drop the irrigation component from the project.
This will help expedite the work as a dam constructed for drinking water supply doesn’t require environment approval of the central government and can be cleared at the state level. It also does not require a public hearing that it meant for all mega projects.
The civic body sent a letter to the irrigation department of the state government last week seeking permission to delete the irrigation component.
A civic official, requesting anonymity, said: “The initial approval of the project was for water supply but later irrigation was added. This meant all permissions had to be routed through central government.”
While the Gargai dam proposal has been on papers for more than four years, environment permissions on the project were to be taken from the Centre after the studies on the project.
Various studies on the project such as environment impact assessment and ecological survey can take another two years, delaying the construction of the project further.
“The proposal to delete the component of irrigation from Gargai dam project has been submitted to the state government and we are waiting for approval. If they agree to delete it, the necessary permissions can be obtained from the state government itself,” said Sanjay Mukherjee, additional municipal commissioner (Projects).
The BMC already constructed a water treatment plant at Bhandup that can treat 900 MLD of water. It has also planned to connect Gargai and Modak Sagar through a 2.5-kilometer tunnel.
The state government officials, Palghar district collector’s officials and BMC officials met last week and decided that all rehabilitation cost will be borne by the civic body.
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