Mumbai News: Report Deciding Malabar Hill Reservoir's Fate Gets Delayed

Mumbai: The fate of the Malabar Hill reservoir still hangs in balance as the BMC is yet to get the final report of the expert panel appointed three months back. Mumbai suburban guardian minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said that he will intervene for the earliest submission of the significant report.

Locals are up in arms against reconstruction

After heavy uproar from the citizens and the activists, the civic body on November 3, 2023, appointed an eight-member expert committee to decide whether the British-era reservoir should be reconstructed or just repairs would suffice. The committee submitted the interim report signed by four members on January 8. Hence, the BMC stressed that the final report, including the say of the professors from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), as conclusive recommendations.

The four committee members submitted the draft of the final report last week. However, the IIT-B professors did not respond to the draft nor have they shared any separate draft report despite reminders, said the local representative and members of the committee. Surprisingly, the civic authorities are also not in a hurry for the report, they added. When asked about the delay, Lodha said, “The final report should have been submitted by now. I will take a review as to why the report has not been filed yet? I will talk to the municipal commissioner in this matter.”

Reservoir does not require demolition, says report

As per the draft of the final report, the reservoir is in good structural condition and does not require demolition or reconstruction for the next 10-15 years as there is no danger of collapse disrupting the water supply. The 135-year-old reservoir beneath the Hanging Garden supplies 147 million litres of water per day to south Mumbai. Its reconstruction and augmentation proposal was approved in February 2022 at an estimated cost of Rs698 crore. Locals were up in arms against the project as it required axing of 189 fully grown trees.