Residents of Gorai and Manori have questioned the BMC's plans to clear land for its proposed desalination plant, alleging serious discrepancies in the civic body's tree count and land records at a public hearing held before the BMC Tree Authority at Byculla on November 3.

The first phase of the plant is planned to produce 200 million litres of water a day (MLD) at a cost of about ₹3,200 crore. The BMC is also planning a second desalination plant at Versova.

971 trees or more than 4,000?

According to the BMC, 971 trees stand on roughly 12 acres at the Manori site. Of these, it proposes to fell 28, transplant 939 and retain four, with 9,610 saplings to be planted as compensation in Palghar — though a plot for that has not yet been identified.

Villagers dispute those numbers. They say more than 4,000 trees stand on the land, and that some were never numbered or included in the inventory.

"Presented as a barren 20-acre plot"

Switsy Henriques, president of the Gorai Villagers Welfare Association, said documents show the project was described differently to different authorities. "The project has been presented to authorities on the basis of a barren 20-acre plot and only 25 trees," she said, referring to the minutes of a Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority meeting in March and papers submitted for Coastal Regulation Zone clearance. "The authorities owe the public a complete and transparent explanation."

Residents also pointed out that permissions refer to 20 acres, while the tree-felling proposal covers 29 acres, and that the BMC holds only advance possession of the land. They demanded an independent tree census and a joint physical inspection.

Questions beyond trees

Speakers said the hearing dealt only with tree felling, not the plant's wider environmental impact or economic viability. Among the concerns raised:

  • Water losses: Gaurang Vora of Save Mumbai Mangroves said about 34% of BMC's water supply is lost to leakage and theft, and that plugging these losses could partly close the city's deficit.
  • Alternatives: Desmond Paul of the Gorai Shetkari Vikas Sanstha suggested fixing leaks and pursuing the Gargai and Kalu dam projects instead.
  • Marine life and fishing: Residents questioned claims that seawater intake and brine discharge would not harm marine life, and sought an independent study by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. Paul said the project threatens fishermen's livelihoods.

Jitendra Pardeshi, Superintendent of the Garden and Tree Authority, said a decision would be taken only after the concerns raised were verified. Sambhaji Masulkar of the BMC's Water Supply Projects department explained the city's need for desalination at the hearing.