The mammoth task of cleaning stormwater drains in Mumbai city before the onset of monsoon rains has been delayed due to the lockdown. Waste management experts feel that it could further enhance the danger of flooding in Mumbai city.

The whole city has roadside surface drains of about 2,000 km. The underground and lateral drains measure 440 km.

Every March, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) undertakes the cleaning of gutters on the roads, both small and large stormwater drains across the city. However, the coronavirus crisis has brought to a halt this process. The required migrant labour is also not available for the work, which often require manual cleaning of the drains with a spade.

Mumbai city receives seasonal rainfall from June to September with an average of 2,000 mm. The city is lined on the Western side by the Arabian Sea. It is also intercepted by three creeks and four small rivers. Therefore, a quick drainage system is necessary for pushing out the rainwater.

Over and above the intricate stormwater drains, the city has major and minor canals of 200 km and 87 km respectively. There are also 186 outfalls, which discharge all the surface runoff into the rivers and Arabian Sea. Canals in Mumbai are exclusively used for discharging stormwater. Garbage also gets dumped into the open regularly.

Expert take

A solid waste management expert who has worked with the MCGM for many years fears that the delay in desilting and garbage removal could lead to excessive flooding in the city. If the first rains are heavy, then there are chances that some silt and garbage in the drains could drain out into the sea due to the runoff. However, if the rains are moderate, that would be a sure recipe for disaster.

Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Mayor of Mumbai, Arun Deo, said that the work of cleaning the drains usually starts in March, but due to the health crisis, the whole process has stalled. The municipalities around Mumbai city could also face the same problem.

Deo alleged that every year the process remains incomplete and the MCGM administration gets accused of mismanagement. This year there are chances that some of the tendering processes for cleaning the drains could be hastened, without following the norms. Even if the lockdown gets lifted by April 14, the time window required for the work to be completed is limited due to the lack of migrant labour.

Additional Commissioner (Projects) of MCGM, P Velrasu, is a text reply said that the desiltation works are already awarded for many wards, while in some wards the works are expected to be completed through labour contract. The duration of such contracts is one year.

Some works are carried out before the monsoon sets in, and it continues till after the monsoon. The Storm Water Drain Department plans to carry out the works as per regular schedule this year too, he said.

All departments have identified works that would need to be completed before the monsoon sets in. The departments will put those plans into action at the earliest. Adequate funding provisions and budgetary allocations have been made for the year 2020-21.

Funds are no constraint for these works, Velrasu added in the text reply.

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