Mumbai’s water shortage will only worsen if the state government and the BMC do not cap the city’s vertical development.
Mumbai’s water shortage will only worsen if the state government and the BMC do not cap the city’s vertical development.
The hydraulic department of the municipal corporation has said there will be no more increase in water supply till 2012, when the Middle Vaitarna project is completed. With more and more high-rises springing up, water is going to be a precious commodity in the days to come.
In a ‘white paper’ on water supply, which will be presented to the civic standing committee on Friday, the department has questioned the government’s policy of increasing FSI (floor space index) and allowing the sale of TDR (transfer of development rights).
Blaming unplanned and rapid development in the past three decades for the water scarcity in the city, the department warned that the situation would worsen if the state and the BMC continued to provide FSI and TDR sops.
“The water supply network has been planned on the basis of norms formulated in the development control regulations, 1991, where FSI for the island city and suburbs was restricted to 1.33 and 1,” the white paper says. “However, the incentive FSI and TDR perks for slum and private redevelopment of new and dilapidated buildings has put severe burden on it, leading to reduced water supply.”
Currently, an FSI of 6 is permitted for redevelopment of old and dilapidated buildings. Claiming that the vertical growth has led to 300% growth in population in the past 30 years, the BMC now wants the state to restrict further vertical development.
“Unlike expected, the city’s population is showing no signs of stabilising,” the white paper says. “The situation will only worsen if the state does not review the currently used development control regulations and FSI perk policy...”
According to the paper, slum connections make up 40% of the city’s water network. “Proliferation of illegal slums and their redevelopment have further pushed the demand for new slum connections,” it says. “With 10 applications being received daily, the length of the water distribution network has been increasing by 70km a year. This puts a burden on the supply.”
The department said it has, therefore, decided not to allot new connections.
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