Navi Mumbai: Even as the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has claimed 100% water flow at Morbe dam, an RTI reply has revealed that the reservoir has not been desilted since it began functioning in 1999.
While the civic body maintains that the dam, being surrounded by mountains, does not accumulate sludge, environmentalists have warned that ignoring desilting could push the city into a crisis.
NMMC Stands by Its Position on Capacity
"Morbe doesn't have any accumulated silt and doesn't require desilting. There is no relation between the claim of desilting and the capacity of the dam. The water that we have in the dam will be sufficient for the city for next one year," an officer from NMMC said.
Environmentalist Raises Long-Term Concerns
Environment watchdog NatConnect Foundation, which sought the information, said that Deputy Engineer Maruti Ambedkar confirmed in the RTI response that no desilting has been carried out at the dam for over two decades. The 88-metre high dam on the Dhavari river supplies 450 million litres of drinking water daily to Navi Mumbai.
Warnings Extend Beyond Navi Mumbai
NatConnect director B N Kumar pointed out that “the city may be in a comfortable position as far as drinking water is concerned, but it could surely land itself in crisis with the rising population and massive all-round redevelopment with scores of skyscrapers.”
"The Morbe revelations come close on the heels of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) admitting through an RTI that no desilting has been done at Vihar, Tulsi, Modak Sagar, Tansa and Middle Vaitarna lakes over the past decade. Together with Bhatsa and Upper Vaitarna, these seven reservoirs supply 3.4 billion litres of drinking water daily to Mumbai," Kumar said.
Silt Build-Up Could Distort Data and Trigger Shortages
Kumar said that piling up of silt at the bottom of reservoirs leads to misleading data and complacency. “This explains the water cuts from April-May even as dams and lakes ‘overflow’ during monsoon months,” he said. “People are forced to rely on tanker supply, which fuels the multi-crore tanker mafia racket across the city and suburbs.”
No Records at State Urban Development Department
Concerned by the lapses, Kumar also filed an RTI with the State Urban Development Department (UDD), only to be informed that the department had no records of desilting operations.
“To our utter shock, the UDD informed us that it does not have any such record. The State headquarters ought to monitor essential services such as drinking water supply. Aren’t they supposed to plan resources when cities are rapidly expanding?” Kumar asked.
CPCB Guidelines Flag Flooding Risks
The activist cited the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines which noted that many metro cities, including Mumbai and Chennai, have witnessed unprecedented flooding in recent years due to progressive siltation, reduced water-holding capacity, breaching of riverbanks, and rising riverbeds caused by deposition of silt. These findings were published five years ago in CPCB’s “Indicative Guidelines for Restoration of Water Bodies.”
Also Watch:
Call for Urgent Long-Term Water Management
Kumar stressed that while cities may appear secure with overflowing dams during monsoons, the lack of desilting and long-term planning could lead to both water shortages and flooding risks.
