Maharashtra has not received money from Centre for improvement of Mithi river

Fifteen years have passed since the 26 July 2005 deluge, but the Centre has not sent a single penny to the Maharashtra government for the cleaning and improvement of the Mithi River.

This was revealed in a reply to a question filed under the Right to Information Act (RTI) by veteran activist Anil Galgali. The Maharashtra government has sought Rs 1,657.11 crore from the Centre.

Mumbai and the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) could not withstand the pressure of nearly 944.2 mm rainfall in 24 hours. The high tide accompanied by rainfall following a cloudburst – created havoc in India’s commercial capital on 26 July 2005 – the memories of which are still fresh in the mind of one and all in Mumbai.

The Mithi river flooded and caused extensive damage. The deluge had leftover 500 dead and lakhs homeless in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts. Through RTI applications, Galgali wanted to know the status update from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

In reply, the MMRDA administration has informed Galgali that the Mithi River has not received a single penny from the central government in the last 15 years till date.

The MMRDA administration told Galgali that the amount sought from the Centre for development work done by MMRDA under Mithi River development work was Rs. 417.51 while BMC had demanded Rs. 1239.60 crore for development work coming under its jurisdiction.

But, MMRDA has not received any amount so far. The then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has assured financial assistance for the Mithi River.

The Mithi River is a confluence of tail-water discharges of the Powai and Vihar lakes. The river is seasonal and rises during the monsoons. The river originates from the overflow of Vihar Lake – located inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park - and also receives the overflows from the Powai Lake about 2 km later.

It flows for a total of 18 km before it meets the Arabian Sea at Mahim Creek flowing through residential and industrial complexes of Powai, Saki Naka, Kurla, Kalina, Vakola, Bandra-Kurla complex, Dharavi and Mahim. It also passes off the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.