Gargai Dam in Palghar: BMC initiates bidding

Consultants to be hired to prepare draft for construction

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has initiated a process of inviting a tender for consultants to prepare a detailed draft to construct the Gargai Dam in Palghar district.

Notably, the BMC will construct three dams — the Gargai, Pinjar and Daman Ganga. The top priority is accorded to the Gargai dam, as the project has cleared all construction-related hurdles and received necessary clearances from various departments, including the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL), the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MOTA) for the construction, rehabilitation and the resettlement of the affected villagers.

A consolidated plan has been submitted to the Palghar district collector for his approval. According to a Storm Water Department official, there are five villages near the project site. The villagers have been shown the location where they will be shifted, and they have no objection with the relocation plan. “The villagers are upbeat about the dam construction, as the BMC will make a new city-like complex for them and provide latest health and education facilities, including a school and a hospital. Moreover, a member of each family will get a job in BMC,” said the official.

He added a tender for the construction of the dam will be invited in March 2020. The design plan will be sent to the Central Dam organisation (CDO) in Nashik for approval. The dam is planned to build on the banks of the River Gargai in the Ogade village of Wada taluka in Palghar. So, it will be called the Gargai Dam.

It will be 970 metres long and 69 metres high. Along the dam, a tunnel will also be constructed to divert the excessive water to the Modak Sagar dam.

Its water holding capacity will be 440 million litres. The estimated cost of the project is Rs1,100 crore.

During the construction, five villages will be affected. The villagers will be shifted to nearby Wada taluka. The BMC will bear the rehabilitation cost.

At present, Mumbai gets water from seven dams — Vihar, Tulsi, Bhatsa, Middle Vaitarna and Upper Vaitarna, Modak Sagar and Tansa. Currently, the city has been getting 3,850 million litres daily (MLD). The three projects have been proposed in view of the growing population. The dams will boost the daily water supply, say the authorities.