Desalination project: BJP MLA seeks 'cost-effective' options

Days after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray approved setting up of a desalination project in Mumbai to mitigate water cuts, BJP leader Ashish Shelar on Wednesday demanded the city civic body explore other options to plug a water supply deficit.

Days after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray approved setting up of a desalination project in Mumbai to mitigate water cuts, BJP leader Ashish Shelar on Wednesday demanded the city civic body explore other options to plug a water supply deficit. The 200-MLD (millions of litre per day) desalination project will come up on an area of 25 to 30 acres in Manori.

"The project is meant to plug the 10-15 per cent water supply deficit affecting Mumbai during summer season. It is necessary to evaluate other ways of making the water available which are more cost-effective," Shelar, a former minister and Bandra MLA, stated in his letter to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal. Shelar said in H/West in his constituency, 2.5 MLD water leaks were successfully stopped through a pilot project.

"Mumbai's current water supply of 3,800 MLD has leakage of 25-30 per cent amounting to the daily water loss of 800 MLD. The BMC must undertake a leakage detection drive in all the 24 administrative wards. I am sure the civic body will be able to save more than 200 MLD water in such drive," Shelar stated. While approving the project, Thackeray had said due to the delayed advent of rains, Mumbai faces 10 to 15 per cent water cuts in May and June.

Desalinating the sea water will help reduce the inconvenience caused to the people by these water cuts, he had said. Shelar also stated that 6,000 to 10,000 wells lie non-utilised in Mumbai which can be used for meeting the drinking water requirements in their neighbourhood.

"I am shocked to note that BMC's rainwater harvesting rules have been blatantly violated by developers," he said. Shelar further wrote that in the last 14 years, over 15,000 building plans have been approved and issued occupation certificates, but less than 30 per cent of these buildings have fully working rainwater harvesting mechanism.

"Over 50 per cent of these buildings have not bothered to implement rainwater harvesting structures and still they been granted approvals by the BMC," he said. The BJP had recently announced its "Mission Mumbai" to wrest the control of the BMC, which is ruled by the Shiv Sena.

PTI ND NSK NSK.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)