Mumbai’s increasing water needs were met on Wednesday when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis approved the Gargai water supply project inside the Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary. However, the project has serious environmental repercussions, including the destruction of hundreds of thousands of trees and the submersion of 186 hectares of private land and roughly 658 hectares of forest land inside the sanctuary.
During a meeting at Vidhan Bhavan, representatives from the forest department raised objections to the project, but their concerns were overruled. The previous Uddhav Thackeray-led government had halted the Gargai project due to the large-scale deforestation it would entail and had instead proposed a desalination plant at Malvani. A previous survey estimated that over 250,000 trees would be cut for the project, prompting the forest department to conduct a fresh assessment, funded by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Mumbai currently receives over 4,000 million litres of water per day (MLD) from seven lakes—Tulsi, Vihar, Tansa, Modak Sagar, Bhatsa, Middle Vaitarna, and Upper Vaitarna. However, nearly 30% of this supply is lost due to theft and leakage. Most of Mumbai’s water supply infrastructure was developed during the British era, with the last major project, the Middle Vaitarna, completed in 2014, which involved the felling of over 700,000 trees.
The Gargai project is expected to contribute an additional 400 MLD to the city’s water supply. While forest officials opposed the project, Fadnavis and BMC officials argued that Mumbai could face a severe water crisis within the next five years due to the increasing population and redevelopment of ageing buildings. The meeting was attended by Forest Minister Ganesh Naik, Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, Additional Chief Secretary (Forests) Milind Mhaiskar, and other officials.
Government sources revealed that Uddhav Thackeray, a known wildlife enthusiast, had urged the Mahayuti government to prioritise desalination instead of deforestation. Although the desalination project was initially delayed, it has now been approved alongside the Gargai project.
Additionally, the Chief Minister has sanctioned a new water treatment plant at Bhandup, capable of purifying 2,000 MLD of water, replacing an existing facility that processes 1,910 MLD. This complex, owned by the BMC, is situated within the eco-sensitive zone of Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The redevelopment will necessitate the removal of over 800 trees, a decision opposed by members of the eco-sensitive zone monitoring committee, whose objections were also dismissed.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray stated, “Initially, we supported the Gargai and Pinjal water supply projects. However, by 2016-2018, we realised that constructing the dam would require cutting 350,000 trees—or 600,000 if the reservoir and pipeline infrastructure were included. The estimated cost of the dam stands between Rs 15,000 crore and Rs 20,000 crore, whereas a desalination plant could provide 450 MLD of water for just Rs 1,500 crore.”
Source: Hindustan Times
