Mumbai Revival: BMC To Identify, Restore Natural Ponds Lost To Urban Development, Says Report

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed a city-wide survey to identify and revive natural ponds lost due to rapid urban development in Mumbai. Many lakes and ponds have disappeared over the past three decades due to infrastructure and real estate projects, impacting biodiversity and increasing urban heat.

According to the report by Navbharatlive.com, the revival work will begin in phases, and in the first phase, the natural bodies marked in the city plan will be identified and then surveyed to understand if they still exist. Those that remain will be restored and developed as 'Blue Zones.' The main aim of the project is to reduce urban heat and restore ecological balance, Additional Municipal Commissioner Avinash Dhakne told the daily.

The pond revival project is currently under the planning stage, however, a tender to hire a consultant will be issued once a detailed action plan is developed, the report added.

A World Wildlife Fund report found 129 potential lake and pond sites via satellite images, but only 68 still have natural ponds, with 17 sites inaccessible. The existing ponds reportedly include 23 small, 36 medium, 6 large, and 3 very large lakes.

Meanwhile, the BMC has completed 4 per cent of the desilting of storm water drains (SWD) as of April 2 across Mumbai. Of the total desilting, 6 per cent is completed of major drains (including the suburbs and city area), 4 per cent is completed of minor drains, and for the Mithi River, the progress is zero per cent.

The pre-monsoon desilting work by the BMC is most crucial to prevent massive flooding during heavy rains. However, this year the full-fledged work started late as two contractors were blacklisted last year, which forced the BMC to float new tenders for wards like H-West, K-West, M-West, and S ward. The Leader of Opposition Kishori Pednekar inspected the BKC stretch of the Mithi River and also questioned the delay in starting the work.

Recently, Ashwini Bhide who assumed office as BMC Commissioner stressed that pre-monsoon preparedness, especially desilting of drains, will be closely monitored. “Keeping the upcoming monsoon in mind, we will review all drain-cleaning works. I assure you that Mumbai will not get flooded this year,” she said as quoted by Maharashtra Times, adding that the pace of ongoing work will be maintained.

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