Work on Mumbai’s seventh storm water drain pumping station is moving at snail’s pace. Till last year, the land on which the station is to be built was under dispute, but in over a year since its resolution, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has not made any headway in the acquisition process. Once it does that, it will take three to four years for the station to be built.
After the 2005 floods, the BMC realised the need for an overhaul of the city’s stormwater drain systems and announced the Brimstowad scheme, under which eight new storm water drain pumping stations were announced. Till last year, only five were in use and this year, a sixth one at Gazdarbandh is being commissioned. Work on the two remaining pumping stations, Mogra and Mahul, has been in the offing for more than a decade. The Mogra pumping station is supposed to provide relief to parts of Andheri including Azad Nagar, Link Road, Veera Desai Road and Bhardawadi while Mahul pumping station is supposed to provide relief to Sion and Matunga. However, the proposed land for both stations is still not with the BMC.
The land on which Mogra pumping station was to be built is near Andheri. There was an ownership dispute over the plot and a case was filed in the Bombay High Court. The case was disposed of in February last year after both parties decided to file consent terms. Meanwhile, the BMC had already deposited ₹40 crore in the court towards the acquisition, about 30% of the estimated cost.
Now that the dispute is resolved, the BMC has to take the money back from the court. Initially, the file was with the Storm Water Drains Department but the BMC’s Legal and Development Plan Department are now looking into this acquisition. The land was not earmarked in the 1991 DP but is reserved in the 2034 DP.
“The money in court will have to be taken back and the final amount paid to the owner after the handover. The acquisition process will be done by the District Collector’s office as per the Land Acquisition Act. They will decide on the sum based on the Act. There is a process to it, which may even take two years,” an officer from the DP Department said.
Only after the land is handed over to the BMC can it undertake soil testing, prepare drawings, estimate, invite bids etc. This means the pumping station will not be ready for another five years.
“The land acquisition process is on. I will take a review soon,” said Vijay Singhal, Additional Municipal Commissioner.
