You still may get stuck

MUMBAI: Even as the government of Maharashtra congratulates itself for getting funds for the Brihanmumbai storm water drain (Brimstowad) upgradation sanctioned by the centre, for the hapless Mumbai citizens who had to wade through neck-deep waters, there is no cause for celebration yet. The project is likely to show results only three years after the actual work begins, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials told ET.

So, major roads and low-lying areas in the island city are likely to continue to be flooded if it pours more than 50 mm in an hour. Existing storm water drainage cannot take in more than 25 mm rainfall per hour. A senior BMC official said the three-phase project, will be completed within 3-4 years from the day the work begins.

“So far, the BMC has spent around Rs 300 crore, but the work done is just a fraction of what the entire project envisages. The first phase will take over a year,” he said.

The primary objective of Brimstowad is to increase the capacity of the island city’s storm-water drains, so that rainfall of over 50 mm in an hour is drained away into the sea. “Till that happens, the main flooding points like Hindmata square, Dadar TT circle, roads in Kurla, Sion, Wadala, and Parel will continue to suffer,” he added.

The Brimstowad project has almost become a cliche in government jargon thanks to delay in its progress since it was first proposed in 1990 when the BMC engaged UK based consultants Watson Hawksley to suggest a solution to the city’s water-logging problems.

The consultants submitted a report, known since then as Brimstowad, recommending an overhaul of the hundred-year old colonial storm-water drainage system. In 1990, consultants pegged the total cost of the project at Rs 616 crore.

If implemented, the project promised to upgrade the capacity of Mumbai’s storm-water drains to take in 50 mm rainfall in an hour. But an outlay of Rs 616 crore and implementation spread over 12 years did not meet the BMC’s feasibility criteria and the Brimstowad report gathered dust.

The impact of the heavy rains in July last year — 944 mm rainfall in 24 hours, resulted in a revival of Brimstowad and questioned the project’s 15-year-old specifications. Parts of the city received more than 100 mm rainfall and the Watson Hawksley report’s rainfall-intensity specification of 50 mm per hour appeared outdated.

“The detailed project report that the BMC has prepared after the 26/7 experience factors in rainfall of over 50 mm per hour. The project cost has shot up to Rs 1,800 crore. But the delay has also improved the prospects of Brimstowad because experience has made our thinking more futuristic, the sources said.

Another advantage is that proposals for civic projects like Mumbai sewage disposal scheme and Mithi river clean up are likely to be sanctioned under the National urban renewal mission.

This means Mumbai’s sanitation and storm-water system would undergo a makeover,” a senior Mantralaya official said. He referred to President APJ Abdul Kalam’s suggestion to the city to learn from Chicago which successfully overhauled its civic infrastructure after floods in the Chicago river in 1996.

“At a presentation that we made before him after 26/7, the President asked the civic agencies to plan for next 25 years. Hopefully, Brimstowad would achieve that,” the official said.