Following a year-long struggle to attract bidders for a desalination plant, Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) scrapped its initial tender in September last year. However, with Mumbai’s water needs continuing to grow and the completion of the Gargai Dam project still years away, authorities have decided to revive the initiative. A fresh tender will be floated this month for a plant to be established on a 12-hectare plot in Manori village, along the western coastline, reports The Free Press Journal.
Despite multiple deadline extensions since December 2023, the project did not receive sufficient interest. The final extension concluded on August 29, 2024, yielding only a single bid. As a result, the civic body opted to cancel the tendering process and focus on the Gargai Dam project instead. The last major dam construction undertaken by BMC was the Middle Vaitarna Dam in 2012.
Situated in Palghar district, about 110 km from Mumbai, the Gargai Dam is expected to provide the city with 440 million litres (ML) of water daily. To compensate for acquiring 659 hectares of forest land for the project, BMC has secured 488 hectares in Chandrapur and an additional 400 hectares near Wada in Palghar from the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra. The Rs. 5,000 crore initiative is currently awaiting environmental approvals.
"The Gargai Dam will take several years to complete, while Mumbai’s population is projected to reach nearly two crore by 2041, pushing the city’s daily water demand to 6,426 ML. To address this urgent need, we will revise our terms and conditions to attract more bidders, after which a fresh bid will be invited," said a senior civic official. The proposed desalination plant, initially planned with a capacity of 200 ML per day, has provisions for expansion to 400 ML per day. The project, expected to cost Rs. 3,520 crore, is slated to be operational within four years.
Earlier, the Congress party had raised concerns about potential cartelization in the tendering process, alleging that the terms were designed to benefit a specific bidder. They called for greater transparency from the BMC and demanded the tender be revoked if the allegations were proven true.
