Interim report on Malabar Hill reservoir not conclusive: BMC

BMC says it is premature to draw conclusions about repairs to the Malabar Hill reservoir until a conclusive report is received from IIT Bombay.

A day after an eight-member committee appointed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) submitted its interim report to commissioner and administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal suggesting minor repairs to the Malabar Hill reservoir, the civic body on Tuesday said until a conclusive report by IIT Bombay based on the expert panel’s discussion was submitted it would not be right to draw any conclusion.

HT Image

BMC had appointed the committee in November 2023 to study whether the reconstruction/repairs of the reservoir is feasible, without affecting the daily water supply. The committee had four experts from IIT Bombay in the fields of structural engineering, hydraulics, and geology, three members from citizens, and one civic official.

BMC’s clarification said as per the prescribed terms of reference, IIT Bombay is expected to suggest an actionable proposal, based on the committee’s discussion, after considering all aspects and taking into consideration the letters and e-mails received from citizens.

“Until the conclusive report is received from IIT Bombay, it is not correct to draw any conclusion regarding the reconstruction or repairs of the Malabar Hill reservoir,” the statement said.

The four IIT-Bombay experts on the committee were professors R S Jangid and Alok Goyal from the structural engineering division, professor Jothi Prakash from hydraulics, and professor Dasaka Murthy from the geotechnical division. But it is now learnt that prof Jangid resigned and recused himself from the committee citing “conflict of interest”. Professors Prakash and Murthy did not sign the interim report submitted to Chahal on Monday and were also not in favour of giving the report. It is also learnt that they would like to only give a final report on the hydraulics issue.