Mumbai, February 28: Despite the four members of the expert committee recommending to carry out repairs instead of reconstructing the Malabar Hill reservoir, the BMC is deliberately delaying the final report, alleged the local residents on Tuesday. However, when contacted, the senior civic official wasn't available for comment.
Addressing a presser, resident Ravi Mandrekar said, “The three committee members from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) had earlier worked as the BMC consultants. So, we doubt that they will give unbiased reports. The civic authorities are trying to stall the interim report submitted by the four other members. The proposal of reconstruction is nothing but a scam.”
Activist Counters BMC's Argument Over Reservoir Capacity:
Contending the BMC's argument that the reservoir needs to be reconstructed for augmenting supply according to the population rise, activist Nilesh Baxi said that the reservoir has a capacity of 147.78 million litres, but just 79.73 million litres is being supplied. “Why the civic body want to reconstruct the tank when it is in safe condition? The four members, who have submitted the report, are experts in their field. If the BMC wants to accept the recommendations of the three IIT-B professors then why did they waste the time of these four experts,” he asked.
After heavy uproar from the citizens and the activists, the civic authorities on November 3, 2023, appointed an eight-member expert committee to decide whether the British-era reservoir should be reconstructed or just repairs would suffice. The committee submitted the interim report signed by four members on January 8. However, the BMC stressed that the final report, including the advice of the professors from the IIT-B, would be treated as conclusive recommendations.
