Mumbai Monsoon Preparedness: BMC Chief Ashwini Bhide Flags 174 Dangerous Buildings In City, Announces 10 Per Cent Water Cut From May 15

Mumbai, April 28: Mumbai has as many as 174 dilapidated buildings classified under the C1 category (dangerous and dilapidated), including 141 private buildings. Of the total C1 category buildings, 72 have been vacated, while action in 71 cases has been stalled due to litigation, where the occupants continue to reside risking their lives.

Data shared during pre-monsoon review

The data was revealed by Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide on Tuesday during a press conference on the BMC's pre-monsoon preparedness.

The commissioner stressed that citizens residing in such buildings should immediately vacate the premises and the building on their own. The competent authority concerned should take appropriate measures before the monsoon as required in the case of cessed buildings and other dangerous dilapidated buildings, Bhide said.

BMC sets early deadlines

Taking lessons from last year’s early monsoon arrival, the BMC has set an early deadline to complete its monsoon preparedness for this year. Bhide chaired a joint meeting of the BMC and other agencies, including the IMD, Mumbai Police, etc., to review monsoon preparedness.

Considering the high possibility of pre-monsoon rainfall due to heatwave conditions, the BMC this year will deploy dewatering pumps by May 5. Meanwhile, the ongoing road concretisation works will be completed by May 15 and the target for desilting has been set for May 31.

Flood mitigation measures

Speaking with the media after the meeting, Bhide said that the BMC will install 547 portable dewatering pumps, of which 146 will be in the island city, 178 in the eastern suburbs and 123 in the western suburbs, apart from six pumping stations and 10 mini pumping stations.

While, out of the total 496 flood-prone spots in Mumbai, 403 have already been addressed and of the remaining, 13 can be resolved before the monsoon, Bhide said.

This year, all portable dewatering pumps will be fitted with IoT-based devices so they can be controlled through smartphones and monitored in real time from the control room, she said.

Desilting and road works

Speaking on desilting, Bhide said that major nullah desilting works are 39 per cent complete, while cleaning of the Mithi River is expected to be finished before the monsoon.

Regarding ongoing road concretisation works, the commissioner said that road works that are less than 70 per cent complete are unlikely to be finished before the monsoon, and hence, the civic body has decided to close such works and cover the stretches with mastic.

She highlighted that pothole repair costs have reduced substantially in recent years due to concretisation, and the civic body has allocated Rs 45 crore for pothole repairs this year, compared with Rs 97 crore in 2025.

Tree trimming and railway coordination

Bhide also said that around 59,720 trees are scheduled for trimming this year, and of these, 26,672 have already been trimmed, while the rest of the work is expected to be completed by May-end, adding that notices have been issued for trimming of 7,000 trees located on private or government premises.

The Municipal Commissioner said the BMC will conduct joint inspections with railway authorities to address flooding on railway tracks, while three teams of the National Disaster Response Force will remain deployed in Mumbai during the monsoon.

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Water cut to come into effect from May 15

The Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide also announced that a 10 per cent water cut will be coming into effect in Mumbai from May 15 onwards. The decision has been taken keeping in view the El Nino climatic conditions, due to which the IMD has forecast below-average rainfall.

The overall water stock stood at 28.79% or 4,16,714 million litres on Monday, April 27. The BMC supplies 3,850 million litres daily (MLD) to Mumbai against an overall demand of 4,300 MLD, leaving a deficit of 250 MLD. Bhide said that the current stock will last till July 16.

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