Mumbai, April 10: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Solid Waste Management (SWM) department has refused to allow silt from nullah desilting to be dumped at the Deonar and Kanjurmarg Dumping Ground. Instead, contractors have been told to handle the waste themselves, leading to large quantities of silt being dumped on plots in Thane, Bhiwandi, and Navi Mumbai.
Desilting drive underway with transparency measures
The BMC has begun its 2026 pre-monsoon desilting drive, targeting completion by May 31 across all major and minor drains, including the Mithi River.
To boost transparency and public participation, it has launched an online dashboard offering real-time updates with photos and videos of silt removal.
This allows citizens to monitor progress, improving accountability and helping ensure the work is actually carried out — crucial for reducing Mumbai’s monsoon flooding risks.
Disposal challenge persists
However, disposal of the extracted silt remains a key challenge this year too. The Storm Water Drains department had requested the SWM to permit dumping of nullah silt at designated dumping grounds to ease monitoring and reduce costs.
But a senior SWM official noted constraints, stating that the city primarily relies on the Kanjurmarg Dumping Ground, which already handles nearly 90% of Mumbai’s daily waste. Ongoing protests by local residents against existing dumping mean that adding silt there could further escalate tensions.
Contractors tasked with waste management
To manage disposal, the silt from Mumbai’s drains is being transported by contractors to quarries in nearby areas such as Bhiwandi, Thane, and Navi Mumbai. However, contractors have to obtain all necessary permissions from the respective local authorities before dumping.
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Additionally, it is mandatory for contractors to submit photographic and video evidence of the transported and dumped silt. Any trip lacking proper documentation is not accepted by the administration.
The process is also costly — transporting a single 15-metric-ton load of silt can cost the civic body up to Rs 30,000 per trip, as per the official.
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