Will BMC’s Rs 10,000-cr proposal end Mumbai’s flooding woes?

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has proposed a Rs 10000crore floodmitigation plan for Mumbai and submitted it to the National Disaster Management Authority NDMA for financial assistance Mumbai is among three Indian megacities selected for NDMArsquos Urban Flood Risk Management Programme UFRMP mdash the others being New Delhi and Ahmedabad mdash and its officials were asked to prepare a plan with comprehensive flood preparedness measures and capacity strengtheningThe move comes amid warnings of the urgent need to manage flood risk in lowlying areas in light of increasing instances of highintensity and unpredictable rainfall patterns in the city3404 kmTotal length of drains in MumbaiFlooding facts1 On average 16 days per year record rainfall greater than 100 mm2 In the past 10 years highintensity rainfall in four hours has occurred 28 times3 Over the past six years average highintensity rainfall has increased from 131 mm to 182 mm4 Mumbai experiences an average of six heavy five very heavy and four extremely heavy rain events per year 20255 Over 3537 of Mumbairsquos population lives within the influence of a 250m radius buffer of flooding hotspots 2025UFRMP timelineMarch 2025 A meeting was held with NDMA chaired by the home secretary Cities were asked to submit a comprehensive proposal for flood mitigation after consulting a thirdparty expert agencyJune 2025 BMC submitted the proposal outlining flood mitigation measures for Mumbai after IIT vetted the proposalFebruary 2026 BMCrsquos budget 2026 formally announced theUFRMP Way forward Principal approval from the Central government is expected for the projectFloodprone areas of city PN Malad K E and West Andheri East and West H E Bandra East L Kurla N Ghatkopar F North Matunga and SionAccording to BMCrsquos flood preparedness guidelines 2025 with up to 800 incidents of flooding between 2016 and 2023Steps proposed by BMC under antiflood programmeNonstructural measures Naturebased solutions rarr Bioretention systems rarr Bioswales rarr Urban sponge parks rarr Green corridors rarr Permeable pavements rarr Mangrove restoration rarr Wetland restoration Technical and ITbased interventions Public awareness and engagement Integrated early warning and monitoring system for the cityStructural measures Construction of retention basins and detention basins in open areas Construction of stormwater pumping stations at Mahul and Mogra Augmentation of stormwater drainage network to double carrying capacity Construction of detentioncuminfiltration tanks such as those at Hindamata Dadar and Gandhi Market Sion Rejuvenation of Mumbairsquos riversOFFICIALSPEAKAbhijit Bangar additional municipal commissionerlsquoSince NDMArsquos core principle is ensuring robust nonstructural measures along with structural measures we have also focused on naturebased solutions for flood mitigation Many such solutions can be implemented for urban areas such as increasing the amount of land where earth is exposed for water retention including public open spaces making open spaces mandatory in private developments road medians and permeable footpaths We await approvalrsquoStatus of waterlogging spotsAt least 29 spots will see waterlogging in the coming monsoon seasonAccording to the BMC budget 202627helliphellipOf the 498 flooding spots identified in the city 391 have been tackled so farhellip52 will be tackled by this rainy seasonhellip26 spots require coordination with other government and private agencies over time