Mumbai: Gargai dam back in the crosshairs

With the new government in power in state and its decisions on infra projects environmentalists fear that the plan for a desalination plant in Mumbai may be under the scanner while Gargai dam project is likely to make a comeback The dam project involves uprooting around 4 lakh trees in the Tansa wildlife sanctuaryBoth the projects have been under the consideration of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation over the past two decades to increase water supply to the city The erstwhile state government headed by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had put the desalination project on the back burner citing high cost and impractical solution After the Uddhav Thackerayled MVA came to power the project was given a nod while the Gargai dam project was set aside in view of its impact on the environmentDesalination plant projectDuring MVArsquos tenure in the state the BMC focussed on the desalination plant at Manori for a whopping Rs 3500 crore which includes setup cost of Rs 1600 crore and maintenance of the plant for a period of 20 years at Rs 1900 crore The plant is estimated to supply 200 million litres of water daily MLD at the initial stage which can be increased to 400 MLD laterThe BMC made a provision of Rs 200 crore for the desalination project for the 202223 financial yearWith the political shift in the state and its effect on the BMC the project has come under scanner with allegations of severe cost escalation ldquoIt costs nearly R18000 crore to treat 200 million litres of seawaterrdquo said a former BJP corporatorldquoWe are against the desalination project as it is an unwanted expenditure We can save water and there are many other sources to increase water supply Mumbai does not need a project which fetches water from seawater The high cost is also one of the reasonsrdquo said Bhalchandra Shirsat spokesperson of BJP Mumbai unit The detailed survey report for the desalination plant was supposed to be ready before the end of 2021 and the plan was to float tenders for construction by June 2022 ldquoThe detailed project report of the desalination project is expected to be submitted by next month The BMC will take further steps accordinglyrdquo said an official from the BMCHowever if this project is stopped the civic body will have to turn to Gargai project again In fact the civic body had plans to build three damsmdashGargai 440 MLD Pinjal 865 MLD and DamangangaPinjal River link project 1586 MLD to increase the supply by 2891 MLD by 2050Gargai dam projectAs per the proposal Gargai dam will be spread over 1100 hectare and will affect another 700 hectare and over 4 lakh trees at Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary In addition residents of 1000 homes will have to be relocated in PalgharWork on the project was in full swing before the MVA assumed power and the COVID19 lockdown started The plan was to build it by 2025 However only Rs 35 crore provision was announced for the Rs 4000crore project in the budget for FY 202122 and there was no provision in 202223When asked about the status of the project and whether it was completely halted BMC commissioner I S Chahal said ldquoLet the new elected body of BMC decide on thisrdquoHowever a senior BMC official said ldquoIt is a long process The joint survey for the compensation of land for Gargai dam is under process The project is at the level of Central Design Organisation of Nashik for vetting designs and the hydrology report We will need environmental clearance and forest department permission too as it involves Tansa sanctuaryrdquoGreens air concernsWildlife conservationist Kedar Gore from The Corbett Foundation said the Gargai dam will be an ecological disaster as the proposed land is one of the finest forests around Mumbai which will be lost forever It may be noted that there are viable alternatives to set up the dam that the The Corbett Foundation highlighted in its report submitted to the governmentGore added ldquoIn a rapid assessment we have recorded over 400 species of flora fauna and fungi at the proposed Gargai Dam submergence area that is a part of the Parali Range of Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary It would be unfortunate if this area was to submerge and the biodiversity therein destroyed including the estimated around six lakh trees that would be cutsubmerged This dam if constructed will also affect the free movement of wildlife between the forest areas in Nashik Pune and Thane districtsrdquoEnvironmentalist Debi Goenka executive trustee Conservation Action Trust said ldquoGargai dam if constructed would lead to the destruction of more than 700 hectares of forest a significant amount of biodiversity and almost wipe out the Tansa sanctuary itself Several tribal villages would also be impacted There is absolutely no logical reason for reviving this project Mumbaikars would do better if they recycled and reused the water rather than destroying forestsrdquoEndangered species at TansaResearchers wildlife lovers and photographers have also pointed that the critically endangered forest owlet has been spotted at Tansa After Sunil Laad and his friends spotted a forest owlet in October 2014 researchers had demanded that the crucial avian habitat in and around Tansa be conserved Their demand came as the forest owlet is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list as a species facing a high risk of extinctionSo far forest owlet was known as endemic to Satpura mountain ranges in central India but its presence in the Western Ghats kindled hopes of its survivalRs 4000crEstimated cost of the Gargai dam project