Too much water: more funds sought for drainage scheme…….Stuti Shukla
After a 17-year delay and a 100 per cent cost escalation, the BMC has sought yet another increase in the Central sanction for BRIMSTOWAD, or the Brihanmumbai Storm Water Drains project.
The Centre had decided to provide a 100 per cent grant to the Rs-1200 crore in 2005 but the BMC now says it will require over Rs 2,000 crore. The cost estimates in 1993, when the masterplan was first submitted, was Rs 616.3 crore.
The Centre had decided to provide a 100 per cent grant to the Rs-1200 crore in 2005 but the BMC now says it will require over Rs 2,000 crore. The cost estimates in 1993, when the masterplan was first submitted, was Rs 616.3 crore.
The project that involves overhauling the century-old storm water drainage system has been stuck for a number of reasons. Officials admitted 40 per cent of the work is still at the stage of inviting tenders.
A civic official attributed the cost escalation to the increase in raw material prices and construction costs. “After Rs 1200 crore was sanctioned in 2005, the prices of cement, steel and concrete have risen. We might require about Rs 2,200 crore to complete the project by 2012.”
Rehabilitation is a major concern, with slumdwellers having encroached on 95 per cent of all drains and nullahs. “In most places, we do not have a list of those eligible for rehabilitation, and we cannot shift them and start work. Also, these are large votebanks and local corporators never help us in getting these families’ consent to a shift,” said the official.
Of the eight pumping stations proposed, only those at Irla Nullah and Haji Ali are nearing completion. The BMC is yet to acquire land and evict slumdwellers at the other six locations.
In 1989, prompted by the deluge of 1985, the BMC appointed Watson Hawksley to study the drainage system and suggest measures to prevent flooding. The system can manage 25 mm rainfall per hour, but the 2005 deluge was the result of 944 mm in a day.
The master plan submitted in 1993 suggested the replacement of old drains, widening of nullahs and increasing their capacity to take 50 mm per hour. Shelved for high costs, the project was revived in 2005 after that year’s deluge.
The work was to be carried out in two phases, involving a number of projects under the mega scheme. In phase one, 11 of 20 projects are completed; in phase two, none is complete. Work is under way on 27 projects and tenders for 11 are yet to be invited.
The Centre sanctioned Rs 400 crore in 2007, Rs 100 crore last year and another Rs 500 crore this year, with the last amount expected to reach the BMC next month.