Mumbai: Civic body to deploy SHG women for door-to-door collections

The BMC manages to collect up to 60 per cent of its annual water tax dues, according to civic officials. File pic/Ashish Raje

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to revive its plan to partner with women from self-help groups (SHGs) to boost water tax collection. The project will begin two months from now, after the monsoon season ends.

Starting September or October 2025, women from SHGs will go door to door in non-high-rise areas, urging residents to clear their pending water dues. In return, they will be financially incentivised based on performance. Initially, the scheme will run as a pilot in selected parts of Mumbai that are neither slums nor posh high-rise localities. The monsoon period will be used to complete administrative procedures and issue contracts.

According to civic officials, the BMC manages to collect up to 60 per cent of its annual water tax dues. The rest is carried forward year after year. As per the BMC's budget, the civic body collected Rs 1577.41 crore in water and sewage charges in 2022-23, and R1629.53 crore in 2023-24. Till December 2024, it had collected Rs 1141.56 crore.

The partnership was first conceptualised before the COVID-19 pandemic, but was dropped for safety reasons. In 2023, the plan was revived on a pilot basis in slum areas but failed to take off. After several rounds of talks with SHGs, the BMC agreed to ease qualification criteria to allow a wider range of groups to participate.

A senior civic official from the BMC's hydraulics department said, "We have now tweaked the eligibility criteria and addressed concerns raised by SHGs. An Expression of Interest (EOI) will soon be floated under relaxed norms, and the onboarding will happen within the next two months. Work will begin right after."

The SHGs will not be assigned only to slum areas. However, areas where most homes are rented on a short-term basis, such as those around business hubs like Lower Parel, will also be excluded. "In such areas, tenants often ask our teams to speak to the landlords instead. We're targeting locations that fall between slum pockets and upmarket neighbourhoods," the official added.

Despite several digital payment options, like UPI, the MCGM 24x7 app, and SMS payment links, collections have remained sluggish in many areas. "We've seen that door-to-door collection is more effective. It saves citizens from having to take leave or skip work to pay their dues," the official noted.

Pilot project highlights

>> Localities selected will be those that are neither slums nor high-rise areas
>> SHG women will visit homes only during daytime hours
>> If any conflict arises, they will be instructed to leave the premises immediately
>> Incentives will be offered in slabs and pegged to the actual amount collected