BMC Sets May 2028 Deadline To Install Steel Nets Across Mumbai Nullahs To Curb Garbage Dumping

Mumbai: After steel nets installed at select nullahs curbed rampant garbage dumping, the BMC has set a May 2028 deadline to cover all major nullahs in the suburbs. The move aims to prevent waste from choking waterways and improve the city’s monsoon preparedness.

Steel nets installed at Main Avenue Nullah and South Avenue Nullah have significantly curbed garbage dumping, according to civic officials. The BMC is now extending the measure to the Vakola River, where indiscriminate dumping near the Dnyaneshwar slum settlement has left the waterway heavily polluted and increasingly resembling a drain. After repeated complaints over floating waste choking the river, the civic body has taken up work to install a garbage-trapping steel net along the retaining wall of the Vakola River.

Steel nets to expand across nullahs

Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijeet Bangar said, "Installing 10-foot-high steel nets at select nullahs has prevented residents of nearby slums from dumping garbage into the waterways. The measure has proved effective in tackling a decades-old problem. We now plan to install similar nets along all major nullahs, particularly in densely populated areas, and aim to complete the work within two years."

However, the plan faces a major challenge in areas such as Mankhurd and Dharavi, where huts have been built right along the nullah walls. Officials said installing the nets at such locations would be difficult due to the encroachments and limited space.

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Garbage dumping remains challenge

Despite annual pre-monsoon desilting, garbage dumping continues to choke several city nullahs, raising the risk of waterlogging. The BMC has tried multiple measures to curb dumping, but bulky waste such as furniture, cupboards and sofas continues to be thrown into nullahs, particularly in slum pockets.

In December 2023, the Storm Water Drains Department piloted steel nets at nullahs in P&T Colony, Bandra West. Following encouraging results, the BMC expanded the measure to other vulnerable nullahs near slums and chawls.

The BMC has 314 major nullahs spanning a combined 300.131 km across Mumbai — 30 in the island city, 125 in the eastern suburbs, 149 in the western suburbs and three along the Mithi River.

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