Mumbai, October 5, 2026: The BMC has proposed a revised policy to bring greater accountability to agencies carrying out underground utility works across the city.
The Comprehensive Trenching and Reinstatement Policy 2026 includes provisions for action against unauthorised excavation, compulsory digital mapping of underground utilities and extended liability for defects in roads repaired after trenching.
The proposed framework, which seeks to improve road quality and coordination among utility agencies, will be placed before the Standing Committee on Thursday for consideration.
According to the proposal, the revision is aimed at simplifying the existing policy and bringing reinstatement charges more in line with those of other municipal corporations.
Under the proposed changes, the reinstatement fee for utility works undertaken during road construction will be reduced substantially, from Rs 6,711 per metre to Rs 2,300 per metre.
The BMC said the lower rate would encourage agencies to coordinate their utility works with ongoing road construction, helping prevent repeated excavation of newly constructed roads.
Penalties For Unauthorised Excavation
To curb unauthorised excavation, the BMC has proposed a penalty equivalent to five times the regular reinstatement charge for trenching carried out without permission.
The draft policy also provides for greater use of existing utility ducts, with low-voltage electrical and telecom agencies laying cables up to 100mm required to use them wherever available. If no duct exists, the agency will have to construct one or seek construction by the Roads Department.
Trenching permissions will be restricted to specified time windows, while work outside these periods will require the municipal commissioner’s approval and incur an additional 10% reinstatement charge.
Emergency repairs will be permitted after an online application and coordination with civic officials, with the assistant commissioner required to report the work to the municipal commissioner within 24 hours.
Longer Defect Liability Period
Under the proposed framework, utility agencies will have longer responsibility for defects arising after road reinstatement. The defect-liability period will be 10 years for cement-concrete roads and five years for non-concrete roads, against the current three-year period for all surfaces.
Diamond cutters will be mandatory for trenching on concrete roads, while reinstatement charges will be based on the actual trench size. The policy also introduces mandatory digital mapping of underground utilities through a GIS-based Web Map Service.
Agencies will have to update the mapping within 30 days of completing work, failing which they will be barred from undertaking additional trenching until the required data is submitted.
Simplified Road Surface Categories
To streamline the road reinstatement process, the BMC has also proposed reducing the existing 16 categories of road surfaces used to calculate charges to two broad categories — cement-concrete and non-cement-concrete. The draft policy also proposes a common access charge of Rs 20 per metre, along with GST, for all utility agencies.
For horizontal directional drilling, a technique that limits surface excavation while laying underground utilities, a security deposit of Rs 15 lakh per km has been proposed. Agencies undertaking regular trenching would have to provide a deposit equivalent to 50% of the applicable reinstatement charge, subject to conditions.
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Key Points
Unauthorised trenching: Penalty of five times the regular reinstatement fee.
Digging during road works: Reinstatement fee proposed at Rs 2,300 per metre to encourage coordination with ongoing road projects.
Defect liability: 10 years for concrete roads and five years for non-concrete roads, compared with three years for all roads under the existing policy.
Trenching windows: Excavation to be restricted to specified periods. Work outside the permitted period will require Municipal Commissioner’s approval and attract an additional 10% fee.
Self-reinstatement: Utility agencies can restore trenches themselves, with civic supervision charged at 10% of the reinstatement fee.
Underground utility mapping: GIS-based mapping will be mandatory. Agencies that fail to update records will not receive permission for further trenching.
Road surface categories: The existing 16 categories will be reduced to two — concrete and non-concrete.
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