100 trees to be chopped for Malabar Hill reservoir reconstruction

Mumbai: Over 100 trees are to be hacked to pave the way for the construction of a tank behind Hanging Garden, one of Mumbai’s iconic tourist sites

Mumbai: Over 100 trees are to be hacked to pave the way for the construction of a tank behind Hanging Garden, one of Mumbai’s iconic tourist sites. The tank is the first phase of the BMC’s ambitious plan to reconstruct the 135-year-old reservoir at Malabar Hill, one of the first artificial reservoirs built to meet the city’s water requirements.

The BMC’s waterworks department has decided to boost the capacity of the reconstructed reservoir from 149 MLD to 191 MLD to augment the water supply to South Mumbai. However, the ₹450-crore project, which was slated to start in January, is still awaiting sanction from the BMC’s Tree Authority to chop trees on the earmarked plot. (HT PHOTO)

The BMC’s waterworks department has decided to boost the capacity of the reconstructed reservoir from 149 MLD to 191 MLD to augment the water supply to South Mumbai. However, the ₹450-crore project, which was slated to start in January, is still awaiting sanction from the BMC’s Tree Authority to chop trees on the earmarked plot.

Vasant Gaikwad, chief engineer in the BMC’s water supply department, said that the department had conducted a survey and counted over a hundred trees, some young and some old, on the plot. “Some of the trees can be cut while others will have to be transplanted,” he said. “The Tree Authority will decide which ones.” A junior tree officer from the garden department in D Ward confirmed receipt of the proposal and said the department would have to do a site visit for the tree audit.

The work on the new tank is expected to take nine months. After this, the BMC will partially shut down Hanging Garden to continue with its rebuilding of the Malabar Hill reservoir, which is located right below the garden. “Only after the new tank is constructed will a part of Hanging Garden be uprooted and partially shut down for the public,” said Gaikwad. “The garden will never be entirely closed at any given time, and the hydraulic department will restore the garden after every phase of work is completed.”

The Malabar Hill reservoir, which has seven chambers, will be built in six phases, said Gaikwad. “Every time a chamber is isolated and demolished, its water will be transferred to the new tank,” he said. “The BMC will ensure that it maintains the water flow and simultaneously reconstructs the reservoir without disturbing the supply to the island city.”

A structural audit of the reservoir was conducted in 2019. The standing committee had in February passed a proposal to reconstruct it much before the deliberative wing of the BMC became defunct in March. M/S Skyway Constructions has been appointed by the BMC to execute the project, which will take eight years to complete.

The reservoir at present supplies water primarily to A and D wards comprising areas like Nariman Point, Cuffe Parade, Churchgate, Colaba, Girgaon, Nepean Sea Road, and the entire Malabar Hill area.