Mumbai, March 13 The Maharashtra government and BMC have planned various projects to address the water crisis in Mumbai, state minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant said on Friday.
These include a desalination plant, a river-linking initiative, and a new dam, he said in the legislative council.
Raising the issue of the water crisis in Mumbai through a Calling Attention Motion, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Sunil Shinde said there is a gap between the demand and supply of water in the metropolis.
In his reply, Industries Minister Samant, who has been designated by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to answer questions on his behalf in the state legislature, said that Mumbai needs 4,656 million litres of water every day, against its capacity of 4100 mld. Shinde is the Minister of Urban Development.
Samant said that it is estimated that Mumbai's population will rise to 1.70 crore by 2041.
New projects are underway, and damaged pipelines are being replaced to increase capacity, he said.
He said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has the policy of "Water for all". Accordingly, since May 2022, a total of 25,101 new connections have been given in slums, "koliwadas", and "gaonthans" in the city.
A desalination plant has been approved for Mumbai amounting to Rs 4,077 crore. The first phase will provide 400 mld of water, Samant said.
Regarding the Gargai dam in Palghar district, Samant said that the project received approval in November 2013. Upon completion, it will provide 440 mld of water, he said, adding that tendering for the project was done in December 2025.
This will go for approval before the standing committee of the BMC, the minister informed the House.
Regarding the Damanganga-Vaitarna-Godavari river inter-linking project, Samant said that budgetary allocation has been done for it.
In the Budget presented by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Rs 13,497 crore were sanctioned for the river inter-linking project.