BJP Mumbai President Adv. Ashish Shelar has criticised the BMC for failing to construct new dams or alternative water sources over the past decade, specifically pointing to the revocation of the Gargai Dam project. He also highlighted the incomplete desalination project as a contributing factor to Mumbai's water crisis, placing the blame on Aaditya Thackeray and UBT Sena.
While addressing the media persons, Shelar stated, "In the 1990s, the BMC appointed the Dr. Madhavrao Chitale committee to evaluate Mumbai's water supply system and develop a comprehensive action plan. This committee proposed the construction of three dams: Gargai, Pinjal, and Middle Vaitarna. While the BMC successfully completed the Middle Vaitarna project in 2014, it has not initiated a single new dam project since then. This stagnation underscores a critical failure in planning and execution, leaving Mumbai's water supply increasingly vulnerable."
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The BMC supplies 3,950 million litres of water daily to the city, but an alarming 34% is lost due to leakages. Shelar raised concerns, stating, "Contracts worth crores of rupees have been awarded to address this issue, yet no one knows what has actually happened. There’s no way to find out either." He further emphasised the environmental and financial drawbacks of desalination, saying, "Globally, desalinating seawater has been shown to have negative environmental impacts. It’s also quite costly, and we pointed this out when the project was first proposed. However, citing trivial reasons, Thackeray pushed its implementation and ensured the cancellation of the Gargai dam project."
He recalled that the Gargai project included provisions for rehabilitating affected trees and creating new forests. "But he canceled this project, prioritising the desalination initiative to benefit his contractor friends at the expense of Mumbaikars," Shelar asserted. Aditya Thackeray was unavailable for comment. Aditya Thackeray was unavailable for comment.
