The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started working on a pumping station at Mogra in Oshiwara. This comes after the Central Government is yet to hand over the salt pan land in Mahul to build Mumbai’s seventh and the largest pumping station.
The civic body originally planned to construct the Mahul and Mogra pumping stations together, which are the last two of the seven stations planned under the periphery of BMC’s BRIMSTOWAD project.
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The project plan was drafted in 2005 with the goal of modernizing Mumbai’s ageing drains. The pumping station at Mahul is expected to avoid waterlogging at King’s Circle, Gandhi Market, Wadala, and Chembur as it has the capacity to pump out 150 cubic metres of water per second.
Whereas the pumping station currently under construction at Mogra will aim at preventing waterlogging in areas like Andheri, Oshiwara and Juhu. Authorities said that the pumping station at Mogra will cost around Rs 225 crores while the Mahul unit will reportedly cost Rs 286 crores.
Following a disagreement between the State and the Centre about the salt pan lands in Kanjurmarg, this could prove to be the next contentious issue between the two.
A senior civic official has said that the agency will now publish tenders for the pumping station at Mogra. “We had sought a legal opinion and were told that the nullah at Mogra over which the pumping station has been planned belongs to the state government, and, therefore, no land acquisition is required. So, work can begin,” the official said.
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Additional Municipal Commissioner, (Projects), P Velrasu gave the confirmation about the work starting at Mogra for the pumping station. “I have asked the storm water drain department to write to the Mumbai suburban collector, seeking approval for the construction, since the legal opinion is that the nullah belongs to the state government,” he said.
Despite the work now starting at Mogra, officials believe that this may not be enough to tackle the city’s problems during monsoons. Given its capacity, officials said that the Mahul pumping station will be crucial to avoid waterlogging in large sections of the city, particularly areas like Sion, Kurla, and Matunga.
Sion corporator, Ravi Raja (INC) who is the leader of Opposition in the BMC said that the civic body should continue to find avenues to procure the land required for the Mahul pumping station. “They must invoke the Disaster Management Act and take over the land. Close to 50 lakh people are affected by flooding in the eastern parts of the city. A dedicated cell must be created for construction of this pumping station, and completion timelines must be strictly adhered to,” Raja said.
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