Mumbai Air Pollution: BMC Extends Deadline For Cloud Seeding Bids Till December 22

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) failed to get responses from global bidders for the carrying out cloud seeding in mumbai. BMC decided to use cloud seeding for artificial rainfall in the city to curb air pollution. Till December 14, the civic body got four bids, three from Bangalore firms and one from Navi Mumbai firms. The BMC officials have now extended the deadline for submission of bids till December 22.

On November 30, the BMC issued a global expression of interest (EOI) to businesses interested in conducting cloud seeding in the city. By December 14, a reputable company with three years of cloud seeding experience was invited to submit a bid. Nevertheless, three of the four local bids that the civic authority got failed to submit the necessary paperwork.

The BMC's suggestion to start seeding clouds is a preventive step to reduce air pollution in the city. A few years ago, the city's attempt at cloud seeding failed. The civic body wants reputable, seasoned firms to step up this time hoping for excellent outcomes. Furthermore, the three Bangalore bidders whose documents were not received in time will have another chance to submit them. Thus, a week has been added to the deadline for proposal submissions. The BMC will request financial offers from the interested enterprises following the receipt of expressions of interest.

The selected firm will have to conduct cloud seeding whenever air pollution spikes in Mumbai and should also make sure that the situation is favorable for it. After receiving directives from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the civic body is in talks with a Dubai-based company that has expertise in this field.

In November 2023, Eknath Shinde said that BMC is signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an international firm based out of Dubai, for carrying out artificial rain through cloud seeding in Mumbai.

Addressing a press conference, CM Shinde said that at present the BMC has taken all the possible mitigation measures necessary for curbing air pollution in the city. Most of the measures have a positive result too. But the CM said that we are ready for any challenges ahead of us and have taken steps to carry out cloud seeding in order to create artificial rain.

Tansa Lake is one of the seven lakes that supply water to the city. In 2009, the Water Supply Department in Mumbai implemented cloud seeding due to insufficient rainfall in the lake's catchment area.

What Is Cloud Seeding?

Similar to how natural rainfall carries out the process of natural cleansing of the environment, cloud seeding is the process of spraying salt mixtures into clouds from the air. This would cause the cloud to condense and eventually cause rainfall, which would then wash away the suspended pollutants that linger in the atmosphere.

The process of cloud seeding leads to many positive outcomes and is used by many across the globe.