5 days before deadline, Mithi desilting only 62% complete

Members of the BMC’s standing committee who inspected the ongoing desilting work on Monday said even this claim was doubtful.

Mumbai: Five days ahead of the May 31 deadline to complete all desilting work in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) dashboard on Tuesday showed that desilting of the 18-kilometre-long Mithi river was only 62.26% complete.

BMC officials said last year’s Mithi desilting scam cast a shadow on this year’s operations as well (Hindustan Times)

But members of the BMC’s standing committee who inspected the ongoing desilting work on Monday said even this claim was doubtful. “There isn’t enough machinery or labourers on ground to clean the Mithi River. The shifting of some residents along the river is also pending,” said Ashraf Azmi, Congress group leader in the BMC.

BMC officials said the Mithi desilting scam, wherein five people including two contractors engaged for desilting the river were arrested in December 2025 on charges of submitting fake bills, cast a shadow on this year’s operations as well.

This year, the BMC was forced to give the desilting contract to a firm that had never been involved in cleaning the Mithi river, after it failed to attract any bids despite two extensions, a senior official from the storm water drain department said.

“Though this is the first time this contractor is desilting the Mithi, they have done a satisfactory job in the clean-up,” the official said.

Dhanaji Herlekar, assistant municipal commissioner (L ward) told HT that out of the 11 outfalls on the Mithi, the civic body was still setting up floodgates at the Swadeshi Mills outfall, and the same would be ready in eight days.

“Like the other floodgates, this gate will prevent sea water from entering the city via the river during high tide, thus preventing flooding,” Herlekar told HT.

Retaining walls have been built along 17 km of the 18-km river, but construction of the remaining portion is stalled due to the presence of around 500 slum tenements along a 400-metre stretch, Herlekar said.

“Out of the 752 tenements that were present along the stretch, the BMC has already rehabilitated 200, while the remaining 500-odd structures are in the final stages of scrutiny,” the assistant municipal commissioner said.

He informed that it won’t be completed before this monsoon

Though rehabilitation efforts were underway on a war footing, it would not be completed before the monsoon, he said.