The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) standing committee has approved a revised cost of INR 5,051 crore for the Gargai Dam project. The approval came on Wednesday, April 1, through a majority and voice vote after strong objections from the opposition.
Earlier, the sanctioned cost of the project was INR 3,105 crore in 2020. On March 11, the standing committee had rejected a higher escalation proposal of INR 5,396 crore and asked the administration to explain the increase.
After this, the civic administration held three rounds of talks with Soma Enterprises, the contractor for the project. These discussions led to a reduction of INR 345 crore in the final approved amount. A presentation on the project was also shown to the committee members.
The proposal was cleared after the standing committee chairman Prabhakar Shinde put it to a voice vote. Opposition members strongly opposed the cost escalation, but they were outnumbered in the vote.
Members of the ruling party said the project was necessary to meet Mumbai’s rising water demand. BJP leader Ganesh Kankhar said the government had saved nearly INR 350 crore through negotiations. He also pointed out that some parts of the city still receive water supply as late as midnight.
Opposition leaders raised serious concerns over the increase in cost. Congress leader Ashraf Azmi said the project cost was being raised without any real progress on the ground. He also questioned the lack of rehabilitation work and missing environmental and other clearances. He warned that the cost could rise further, possibly reaching INR 7,000 crore in the coming years.
Shiv Sena leader Yashodhar Phanse highlighted the environmental impact of the project. He said around 310,000 trees would be cut in the Palghar project area. He also noted that compensatory afforestation would be carried out in Chandrapur.
The Gargai Dam project is planned to increase Mumbai’s water supply by 440 million litres per day (MLD). It includes construction of a 69-metre-high dam near Ogada village in Palghar district and a 2.2-kilometre tunnel to carry water to the Modak Sagar reservoir.
The BMC has also proposed setting up a special land acquisition unit to speed up work on the project in Palghar. The unit is planned to function from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027. It will have ten members, including two additional collectors and four officers from the ranks of tehsildar and deputy-collector.