Mumbai: No call on Malabar Hill reservoir yet

Members of an expert committee examining the reservoir on December 7, 2023

A year has passed and three reports submitted, but the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is yet to decide on the Malabar Hill reservoir renovation. The civic body received a final report from IIT Roorkee a month ago and has even carried out a hydraulic study. The issue of reconstructing old reservoirs and building an additional one has been ongoing for over a year. The work order was awarded in February 2023 at an estimated cost of Rs 698 crore.

The BMC initially planned to demolish and reconstruct the reservoir by constructing a tank with a 90 million litre capacity, which required the transplantation of 200 trees and the axing of 189 others. After a protest from citizens over the removal of 389 trees for the construction of an additional reservoir to reconstruct the British-era reservoir, the BMC formed a committee on November 8, 2023, comprising residents and IIT Bombay professors.

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An expert committee examining the reservoir in December last year

The committee divided over the conclusions. Citizens' representatives submitted a report in January favouring functional repairs over demolition While in March, IIT experts recommended constructing a new tank to facilitate reservoir repairs or reconstruction. After two different reports, the BMC invited IIT Roorkee experts, who visited the site in June and submitted the report in the first week of July, suggested repairing and adding a new tank with a 52 million litre capacity.

The BMC then conducted a hydraulic study and concluded that a smaller additional tank with a 34 million litre capacity could be built to support repair efforts. "After conducting the hydraulic study, we completed our report and gave it to the higher authorities. The BMC will take a decision soon," said a senior civic official.

Minister Speaks

Mangal Prabhat Lodha, guardian minister of Mumbai Suburban district and local MLA, had taken up the matter in light of the citizens' protest last year. In a press conference on June 7, Lodha revealed that he had written a letter to the municipal commissioner requesting scrapping the tender of reconstruction and starting the process of repair of water tanks. "The reservoir can be repaired without cutting down trees," Lodha said during the press conference.

Though the hydraulic study suggested cutting down the size of the additional reservoir by almost one-third of its original dimensions, the removal of a few trees is still required as the location of the reservoir cannot be changed. It may require citizens' approval before going ahead. Lodha told mid-day that the BMC had come up with a new repair plan. But he said he hadn't received the report from IIT Roorkee. "I have asked for the report. I can comment only after reading it and suggestions from the BMC," said Lodha.

Malabar Hill reservoir facts

>> Comprises two tanks and five sections.
>> Has a combined storage capacity of 35.35 million litres in sections 1A, 1B, and 1C.
>> Total storage capacity in sections 2A and 2B is 39.17 million litres.
>> Either 1A, 1B, and 1C together or 2A and 2B must be closed for this repair.