Surya water plant springs hope for Vasai-Virar, Mira-Bhayander

In a little over a decade the population of areas governed by Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) has grown from 12.22 lakhs (in 2011) to 24 lakhs (in 2023), according to data accessed from Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)

Mumbai: Over 20 lakh residents in the Vasai-Virar belt can breathe easy, as their persistent water woes are likely to lift soon. The state government’s Surya Regional Water Supply Scheme is set to start from May, providing an additional 185 mld water to the suburbs.

Gaurav Shrimankar, a resident of Mira Road said, “There are 42 flats in the housing society I live in. We get water once in three days in low pressure. While both the civic body and local MLA have failed to heed our complaints, it is mindboggling how other regions of Mira Road are being developed. We are being told for a year that a new pipeline is being fixed, which will benefit us. We are waiting.” . (HT PHOTO)

In a little over a decade the population of areas governed by Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) has grown from 12.22 lakhs (in 2011) to 24 lakhs (in 2023), according to data accessed from Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

While the population has doubled, the civic body has failed to match the water supply, as a result which citizens have lived with scarcity for a decade. The beneficiaries from this crisis have been those running water tanker businesses, which thrives in the suburbs.

This scenario is mirrored in areas governed by the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) as well, which has a population of 14 lakh.

The crisis becomes acute every summer. On April 18, Hindustan Times reported about the scarcity in a story titled, ‘In Vasai-Virar protests yield water once in 8 days.’

Gaurav Shrimankar, a resident of Mira Road said, “There are 42 flats in the housing society I live in. We get water once in three days in low pressure. While both the civic body and local MLA have failed to heed our complaints, it is mindboggling how other regions of Mira Road are being developed. We are being told for a year that a new pipeline is being fixed, which will benefit us. We are waiting.”

Nalasopara resident Deepak Bhagat said, “We have to wait long for water in our area. I hope the new scheme will provide some relief to us, although the corporation should have met the demand.”

Soon, VVCMC can depend on water generated from Surya water supply scheme, while MBMC will get the benefit by the end of the year.

Work on the Surya Regional Water Supply Scheme began in 2018, which will supply 403 mld water. MMRDA is on the last leg of laying the 90-km-long water pipeline from Surya Dam, built in the 1990s, in Dhamani village.

The water lifted from downstream to the dam, will be treated in the new plant and distributed through the pipeline. “The dam, spread across 203 square kilometres, currently holds over 10,000 million cubic feet (TMC) water. We have almost completed the work on the pump house in Kawadas, 30 kilometers from Dahanu town, and the water treatment plant in Suryanagar Colony,” said an official from MMRDA.

The pipeline will run parallel to the NH8 and pass through Vaitarna and Tansa rivers. Part of the pipeline will go through a 4.25 kilometer-long tunnel, located at least 40-50 meters below the Tungareshwar National Park and Diva-Vasai Railway line. The water will be supplied into an inlet Kawadas and drawn through six large pumps.

SVR Srinivas, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA, said: “Vasai-Virar has been the fastest growing urban agglomeration in India over the last decade. It has a serious water issue. It will bring relief to the citizens here, as well as be an impetus to the growth of these suburbs.”

He added that after the water supply is regularised, many internal projects can be speeded up.

“We have allocated additional funds for the purpose,” Srinivas said. “Cities cannot grow and sustain without water.”

The VVCMC, which had stopped giving new water connections to new projects, around seven years ago, put out a notice in November 2022, asking citizens and committees of new buildings to apply for fresh connections as the city was set to get an additional quota soon.