The BMC has floated multiple tenders inviting bids for carrying out desilting works in the minor drains and nullahs of the island city and eastern suburbs, prior to the onset of the monsoon. The civic body will be spending Rs. 284 crore on the desilting work to avoid flooding during heavy rains.
BMC's desilting work post the 2005 deluge
After the 2005 deluge, the BMC started desilting the nullahs in and around the city and suburbs before the monsoon season. There are 254.67 km of major nullahs, 443.84 km of minor nullahs, and 21.35 km of the Mithi river that have to be cleaned up in Mumbai and the suburbs. The BMC removes more than nine lakh metric tonnes of silt every year.
Out of this, the BMC removes 75% of silt before monsoon, 10% during monsoon, and 15% post-monsoon as per its policy. Payments to the contractors are made only after checking the works, and all the photos and videos of the work undertaken, said a civic official.
Targets May 31 for completion
The BMC has a dashboard to monitor the progress of desilting, which also shows the percentage of work completed every day. It also has a system to track the unloading of the silt, indicating where it is taking place, and a picture needs to be taken to show if silt was actually loaded in it. In the absence of elected representatives, the civic body would need to ensure that all nullahs are well desilted.
The civic body will be spending Rs. 60 crores for desilting work in the island city and Rs. 79 crores and Rs. 145 crores for the eastern and the western suburbs, respectively. The BMC has set a target to complete the work by May 31. Last year, the BMC had spent a total of Rs. 257 crores for the work.
