The Maharashtra government has announced an INR 13,000-crore flood-control plan to prevent flooding in Mumbai after the city was severely affected during the first spell of heavy monsoon rain this season. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis shared the details of the project in the legislative assembly on Wednesday, July 8.
According to Fadnavis, the government has identified 370 spots where water collects during heavy rain, especially when high tides occur. He said a new drainage technology will be installed at all these locations. The system will be able to remove waterlogging within 30 minutes.
Fadnavis said civic agencies were able to manage the recent extreme weather conditions effectively. He noted that 547 pumping units are currently operational, while nearly 990 additional pumps, including those managed by the MMRDA, Railways and other agencies, are available when required.
The BMC has completed 112% of its targeted drain desilting work and 83% of desilting of the Mithi River ahead of the monsoon, he said. The government’s AI-based monitoring system has also detected irregularities in desilting contracts, resulting in penalties of ₹12.5 crore in 2025 and ₹9.25 crore in 2026 for inflated bills and false records.
The chief minister said the rainfall recorded this month was far above normal levels. Mumbai usually receives 734 mm of rain at Colaba and 856 mm at Santacruz during July. However, in the first six days of this month alone, Colaba received 882 mm of rainfall, which is 111% of its average July total. Santacruz recorded 988 mm, which is 102% of its normal July rainfall.
Nearly 90% of Mumbai's average July rainfall fell within just four days. Mumbai's average monsoon rainfall is 2,318 mm. The rainfall received during those four days alone accounted for around 42% of the city's average seasonal monsoon rainfall.
The chief minister said he was open to criticism but would not allow anyone to spread false information. Fadnavis also spoke about the flood situation in Vasai-Virar, where heavy rainfall continues to affect normal life. He said the region has been receiving around 100 mm of rain every day. It recorded 325 mm of rainfall on July 6 and 202 mm on July 7. In the last 72 hours, the area has received a total of 672 mm of rainfall.
He said teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in the affected areas. Repair work is also underway to restore damaged electricity and mobile network infrastructure. He said power supply has been disrupted in some places due to major network damage and will be restored once it is safe to do so.
He said Mumbai recently avoided a major water crisis as reservoir levels had fallen below 10%. He added that by 2030, the city's water supply will increase by more than 1,000 MLD. This will be achieved through the Gargai project and desalination plants at Manori and Versova, which will together add 400 MLD and 200 MLD of water supply.
Fadnavis also addressed the concerns about the landslide on the missing link and its closure for nearly 18 hours on Monday. He said the incident was caused by a landslip and not because of any damage to the structure. He said there were no cracks in either the tunnel or the bridge. A crane reached the site within three minutes after the emergency button was pressed.