Rs 1,000 cr stands in the way of Mithi widening

Six years after 2005 deluge, second phase of BMC's de-silting and widening project is 'moving slowly' because of fund crunch

Rs 1,000 cr stands in the way of Mithi widening

Six years after 2005 deluge, second phase of BMC's de-silting and widening project is 'moving slowly' because of fund crunch

The city is still vulnerable to the kind of large-scale destruction that followed the 2005 deluge.

For, six years on, the Mithi river, which was found to be one of the major causes of the accompanying floods, is yet to be completely de-silted and widened as per the plan put in place at the recommendation of various committees (see box).

Lethargic pace

The second phase of the project is moving at a slow pace because the BMC is facing a shortfall of a whopping Rs 1,000 crore and because other authorities are allegedly not cooperating with the civic body.

BMC Standing Committee Chairperson Rahul Shewale said, "The project is falling short of around Rs 1,000 crore and work is going on slowly because of that."

The project was divided into two phases. Rs 31.48 crore was spent on the first phase (between April and June, 2006) when 3,800 structures around the river were razed to facilitate its widening.

The second phase, which is still in progress, began in April, 2007, and included the widening of the river by 100 m between CST-Kurla Road and the Airport culvert.
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The deepening of the river, construction of a 7.9-km retaining wall around the river and the construction of 6-12 m wide service roads on its banks were also on the agenda.

u00a0"Rs 600 crore has been spent from the corporation's coffers for the project, which was supposed to be paid for by the state government.

They have sanctioned money to the MMRDA for the rest of the Mithi river project, which includes beautification as well," said Shewale.

He said that the total estimated expenditure for the project is Rs 1,600 crore, of which Rs 600 crore has already been spent.

He added that the project was not moving along quickly also because the Airport Authority of India was not carrying out its share of the work.

"After pressure was put on them, they widened the part of the river passing through their jurisdiction from 27m to 47m," he said.

"The interim loan was also taking time to get sanctioned by the state government as they wanted a list of all the projects in the city.

We are expecting Rs 3,000 crore to come in during the next financial year which would help take the projects forward. Increased revenue from Octroi will also be used here."

What's done
>Two-thirds of the river deepening work is complete.
>30,200 cubic m of silt and 46,900 cubic m of hard rock has been excavated from the riverbed
>The 7.9 km retaining wall is
complete.

Deadly river
11.8 km of the 17.8 km-long Mithi river comes under the BMC's jurisdiction and the rest of it is under the MMRDA. The de-silting and widening project was sanctioned following recommendations of the Chitale Committee, the Central Water Power Research Station and IIT-Bombay.

MMRDA's part
In the first phase of the development work of the Mithi River, which took place between March, 2006, and June, 2007, 8 lakh cubic cm of debris was removed. In the second phase, 19 lakh cubic cm of debris has been removed and the desilting of the Vakola river has been completed. Work on the construction of roads and beautification of the river's surroundings will be undertaken once the second phase is complete.
Rs 25.76 crore was spent in the first phase and Rs 96.35 crore has been spent in the second phase so far. The total cost of the project is Rs 300 crore.