The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has agreed in principle to relocate four major water mains passing through its land in Sion to facilitate a slum rehabilitation project expected to provide housing for around 2,200 eligible residents.
The proposal involves Panchsheel Cooperative Housing Society and its appointed developer, Sejal Siddha Realtors LLP, and represents a significant shift from the civic administration’s earlier position that its Hydraulic Engineer land should not be made available for development or have critical water infrastructure relocated.
The site, located in the Salt Pan area of F-North ward, covers around 36,716 sq m and currently houses four major pipelines: the 1,200-mm Old Tansa main, 1,200-mm New Tansa main, 800-mm Vihar main and 1,800-mm Mumbai main. These pipelines form an important part of Mumbai’s water distribution network.
Proposal Pending for More Than a Decade
The redevelopment proposal has been under consideration for more than 10 years. Earlier requests from the society and its previous developer to shift the pipelines and use the civic land for redevelopment had been rejected by the BMC Hydraulic Engineer’s Department.
The department had maintained that surrendering the land or shifting the mains could hamper its ability to operate, inspect and maintain the city’s water infrastructure.
The position changed following proceedings before the Bombay High Court concerning the rehabilitation of slum residents. The court directed the BMC to examine the redevelopment proposal while stipulating that construction could not be carried out within 10 metres of the main pipelines.
Following the court’s directions, the BMC consulted its engineering and planning departments, the developer and technical experts, including IIT Bombay, to assess whether the mains could be shifted without affecting Mumbai’s water supply.
Water Supply Protection Remains Key
The pipelines are critical city infrastructure, supplying water to areas including Tilak Nagar, Sahakar Nagar, Kurla, Bhakti Park and parts of South and Central Mumbai.
After examining the technical feasibility, the civic body has proposed shifting the four mains to an adjoining portion of the site. The move is intended to preserve the functioning of the water network while freeing the remaining land for the rehabilitation project.
The proposal reflects the challenge of balancing Mumbai’s urgent housing and rehabilitation requirements with the protection of essential civic infrastructure. If implemented, the relocation would allow the long-pending housing project to move ahead while retaining access to the water mains for future maintenance and operations.
For Sion, the project could eventually create a substantial new housing stock for rehabilitated families, while the pipeline relocation represents a complex piece of infrastructure planning beneath the redevelopment process.
Source: Times of India
