189 trees to be hacked behind Hanging Garden for temp water tank

The civic official from D ward’s waterworks department said that the census was finalised on September 6 and then made public. The trees on the plot have been pasted with the mandatory notices announcing their imminent demise. “The garden department will conduct a hearing for objections and suggestions from the public,” said the civic official

The final census for the trees that will be hacked for the construction of a tank behind Hanging Garden is ready. Of the 389 trees in the iconic tourist site, a total of 189 trees will come under the BMC’s axe while 200 trees will be transplanted. The tank is the first phase of the BMC’s ambitious plan to reconstruct the 140-year-old reservoir at Malabar Hill, one of the first artificial reservoirs built to meet the island city’s water requirements.

The tank is the first phase of the BMC’s ambitious plan to reconstruct the 140-year-old reservoir at Malabar Hill, one of the first artificial reservoirs built to meet the island city’s water requirements. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

A civic official from the water supply department said that a temporary 90-million-litre (MLD) tank would be constructed on the plot in order to give uninterrupted water supply to South Bombay when the work on the Malabar Hill reservoir was on. The work on the tank is already under way, with the basement and ground level constructed.

“When this alternate tank is ready, water supply will be diverted here,” said the civic official. “It will be completed in two years, after which Hanging Garden will be shut in parts to the public.”

The BMC’s waterworks department has decided to boost the capacity of the new Malabar Hill reservoir from the current 149 MLD to 191 MLD in order to augment water supply to South Mumbai. The total cost of the project is ₹450-crore, and the department is still awaiting sanction from the BMC’s Tree Authority to chop trees on the earmarked plot.

The plot has a huge variety of trees, among them jackfruit, junglee badam, mango, kailashpati, jamoon, chafa, Ashoka, neem, coconut, reetha and many more. Botanists have surveyed the garden and estimated where a few Ashoka, jackfruit and shevga trees can be retained, depending on their size.

The civic official from D ward’s waterworks department said that the census was finalised on September 6 and then made public. The trees on the plot have been pasted with the mandatory notices announcing their imminent demise. “The garden department will conduct a hearing for objections and suggestions from the public,” said the civic official.

According to a garden department rule, for every tree that is axed, four have to be planted in its place. The BMC has, as of now, identified two places where the trees can be transplanted/replaced with new trees. One of these places is the Bhandup Complex site on a BMC plot; the other is the Tower of Silence at Doongerwadi, depending on the Bombay Parsi Punchayet getting approval from all its trustees.

While some residents are disheartened by the loss of green cover, Indrani Malkani, a Malabar Hill resident and chairperson of V Citizens’ Action Network, said that the BMC did not have a choice. “Much as I hate to see the lovely green cover go, people need water,” she said. “The population is increasing and if the demand for water has indeed increased tenfold, we have no choice. Also, this reservoir was built way back in early British times and it has gone through normal wear and tear.”

The Malabar Hill reservoir, which has seven chambers, will be built in six phases. Every time a chamber is isolated and demolished, its water will be transferred to the new tank. 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 last year. M/S Skyway Constructions has been appointed by the BMC to execute the project, which will take eight years to complete.