BMC, MMRDA spar over damaged drains

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) have once again locked horns.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) have once again locked horns.

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The civic body has alleged that the MMRDA’s ongoing infrastructure projects have damaged several storm water drains (SWDs) and sewage lines across the city, which could lead to water-logging and disruption of sewage water disposal.

The BMC made the allegation based on an internal report it compiled, which has photographic evidence to support its claims. “At coordination meetings, MMRDA officials would never accept our complaints. We then got these sites photographed,” said a senior civic official.

After the photographs were presented at a recent meeting with municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar, it was decided that the MMRDA would divert the damaged drains and lay new lines at its own expense.

“Even after being assisted by site maps that have utility locations, contractors have damaged the drains. The MMRDA has been asked to lay the new lines at its own cost. It has already begun work in Andheri,” said additional municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta.

Metropolitan commissioner Rahul Asthana said the MMRDA was diverting the underground lines at its own cost because the lines overlapped the project’s underground installations. He blamed the BMC for the damage caused to drains. “The utility maps the BMC gives us are not accurate. As the location of the underground utilities are not mapped precisely, there are chances of them getting damaged. We are usually very careful,” he said.

The BMC report also alleged that several SWDs were clogged by debris resulting from MMRDA projects. Civic officials also lamented that the MMRDA would now damage concrete roads at JP Road, Andheri (West) which will have to be dug up to lay new lines after pillars of the Metro bridge — constructed in the drain — damaged it.