Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Standing Committee has given a green signal to the controversial Gargai dam proposal in Palghar district in Maharashtra at a revised cost of ₹3,065.68 crore. Earlier, the panel stalled the project due to price escalations and environmental concerns.
After the majority of panel members voted in favour of the project, BMC’s Standing Committee approved the cost escalation of more than ₹2,000 crore, with the current cost of the project, including taxes, being ₹5,051 crore. Despite objections from the opposition, Standing Committee chairman Prabhakar Shinde put the motion to a voice vote, where the majority voted in favour.
Mahayuti corporators reasoned that the project is needed to meet Mumbai’s increasing water requirements on a priority basis. Besides, the project cost escalations have been reduced from 9% to nearly 2% above the estimate. BJP leader Ganesh Kankhar said, “It has been considered only after the contractor agreed to work at the par rates.” Mumbai’s current demand is 4,665 MLD per day, while supply is 4,100 MLD.
The Gargai project has been long overdue, as it was originally conceived in 1994, and was reinitiated by the Mahayuti government in 2019 to build a research project to procure 440 million litres per day (MLD) for Mumbai. The projects received objections as it is likely to affect 3.10 lakh trees and villagers.
