July 2, 2025: After a year-long attempt to attract bidders for its proposed desalination plant ended in failure, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) scrapped its initial tender in September 2024. Now, with Mumbai’s population projected to touch two crore by 2041 and its daily water demand expected to reach 6,426 million litres (ML), the BMC has decided to revive the project with revised terms to boost participation.
A fresh tender will be floated this month for a desalination plant to be constructed on a 12-hectare plot in Manori village, located on the city’s western coastline, The Free Press Journal reports.
The original tender, issued in December 2023, underwent several deadline extensions but attracted only a single bid by August 29, 2024. In response, BMC chose to cancel the tender and prioritise the Rs 5,000 cr Gargai Dam instead.
Located around 110 km from Mumbai in Palghar district, the Gargai Dam is intended to supply 440 ML of water daily. However, the project is still in the early stages, pending environmental approvals, and will take years to complete. To offset the loss of 659 hectares of forest land, BMC has secured 488 hectares in Chandrapur and 400 hectares near Wada in Palghar through the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra.
The desalination plant, with an initial capacity of 200 ML per day and expansion potential to 400 ML, is estimated to cost Rs 3,520 crore and is expected to be operational within four years.
Previously, the Congress party raised concerns over alleged cartelisation in the earlier tender process, claiming the terms favoured a particular bidder. They demanded transparency and urged the civic body to revoke the tender if irregularities were confirmed. BMC now plans to amend the conditions to ensure broader participation and fair competition.
Source: Smart Water Magzine
