Mumbai: After securing a key milestone with Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance for its proposed 400 Million Litres per day (MLD) seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant at Manori village in the west, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has advanced to the next stage of regulatory approvals.

The civic body has now initiated the process of obtaining permissions from the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), which are crucial to move the project forward.

Earlier, the BMC secured approval from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) in 2023 through an offline process, followed by online clearance in April after procedural revisions.

The mandatory CRZ clearance from the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) was obtained by the end of April.

Approvals from the MMB and the MPCB are also required for desalination projects, given their environmental implications — particularly seawater intake and the discharge of concentrated brine — ensuring full compliance with state environmental regulations and the CRZ Notification.

“We are in the process of obtaining two key approvals — MMB and MPCB — after which groundwork can begin. A drone survey has been completed, and land at Manori has been handed over by the state, with formalities underway.

Desalinated water will be conveyed from Manori to Charkop and onward to the tunnel shaft at Mahavir Nagar in Kandivali. A tender for the conveyance tunnel has also been floated,” a senior official said.

Amid concerns that El Niño conditions could lead to below-normal monsoon rainfall in Mumbai and across Maharashtra, the proposed desalination plant — the state’s first large-scale potable water project — is being positioned as a key measure to strengthen the city’s long-term water security.

The BMC awarded the contract to GVPR Engineers Limited in December 2025.

The project will be implemented in phases, beginning with a 200 MLD facility that is scalable up to 400 MLD.

It is estimated to cost Rs 11,166.17 crore, including around Rs 4,077 crore for construction, along with 20 years of operations and maintenance, power costs, taxes and full lifecycle expenses.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has identified 162 recurring garbage hotspots across Mumbai, where waste continues to return despite repeated clean-ups. Flagged through inspections and citizen complaints, these sites expose weak enforcement on the ground. Ward offices have been directed to clear them immediately and ensure stricter measures to prevent further illegal dumping.

It has been observed that many of these hotspots lack basic community bin facilities, pushing some residents to dump waste openly instead of using designated collection points. The BMC has now directed ward offices to act decisively—ensure regular waste lifting, close service gaps, and actively sensitise residents to stop indiscriminate dumping in Mumbai. “The intent is to break the cycle of neglect that repeatedly turns these locations into garbage eyesores, and to push visible improvements in ground-level cleanliness,” said a senior civic official.

The BMC ward-wise assessment across Mumbai reveals uneven pressure points—some wards report as many as 28 garbage vulnerable locations, while others have relatively fewer. In comparison, the areas such as Bandra West, Khar West, and Santacruz West, has identified five such spots. The civic administration has now fixed ward-level targets, with performance set for strict review by the Municipal Commissioner.

Mumbai: The Budget Estimates for the financial year 2026-27 presented by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Administration were approved with the proposed amendments in the Municipal Corporation House yesterday (8th May 2026). As per the approved Budget (Modified Budget Estimates 2026-27), the Municipal Corporation Administration has immediately made the funds given to the Municipal Corporation members for development works available on the SAP system. Due to this, the civic services, amenities and local development works recommended by the esteemed corporators in the Standing Committee and Municipal Corporation meetings will get a boost. Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde, Deputy Mayor Sanjay Gadi, Leader of the House Ganesh Khankar, Standing Committee Chairman Prabhakar Shinde, Shiv Sena Group Leader Umay Ghole have expressed satisfaction over this immediate action. This year, the general elections of the Municipal Corporation were held in January 2026, after which the election process for the posts of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and then various statutory, special and committee posts was completed. During this, the Municipal Corporation administration presented the budget estimate for the financial year 2026-2027 on February 25, 2026. As per the prescribed procedure, the budget was discussed in the Standing Committee and after necessary amendments, the Standing Committee placed the revised budget before the Municipal Corporation meeting. After 12 days of discussion, the income side of the budget was approved on April 30, 2026 in the Municipal Corporation meeting. Thus, the entire budget with amendments has been approved in the Municipal Corporation meeting.

As per the regular procedure till now, the budget is expected to be approved before the beginning of the financial year. However, this year, the budget approval was delayed due to the elections and the subsequent process.

Keeping this in mind and the need to expedite the local development works proposed by the members of the Municipal Corporation, it was of utmost importance to implement the revised budget immediately. In this regard, Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide had directed that the budget for amendments be made available on the SAP system immediately, so that the concerned departments can immediately complete the administrative approval, tender process and start the implementation of the local development works.

Accordingly, under the guidance of Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, the Finance Department of the Municipal Corporation working under the supervision of Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar, Joint Commissioner (Finance) Devidas Kshirsagar, Deputy Commissioner (Municipal Commissioner’s Office) Prashant Gaikwad, and Chief Accountant (Finance Department) Prashant Gaikwad. Late last night, May 8, 2026, uploaded the budget for amendments in the SAP system. This urgent action by the Municipal Corporation administration will boost various local development works in Mumbai.