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Taking cognisance of vehement opposition by local residents to the reconstruction of Malabar Hill Water Reservoir, which is located underneath the Kamala Nehru Park (Hanging Gardens), suburban Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha has directed Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to form a committee to carry out a technical evaluation of the tank.
According to officials, the committee is slated to comprise professors from IIT (Bombay), BMC engineers, as well as citizens with expertise on technical subjects. Following its assessment, the committee is slated to decide whether the tank will undergo repair works or demolition.
“This committee will include three IIT professors who will be appointed by the director of IIT. Furthermore, BMC engineers including DMC (special engineering), Chandradhar Kandalkar, as well as two–three local residents with good knowledge of engineering and architecture. Locals have been raising voices against demolition of the structure. So this committee will review the tank and decide its fate,” spokesperson of Maharashtra BJP and former corporator, Bhalchandra Shirsat said.
The civic body’s plan to reconstruct the reservoir, which will result in axing of 189 trees and transplantation of 200 more trees, has drawn flak from residents of the upscale neighbourhood. While BMC has put on hold the plan to rebuild the reservoir amid rising opposition, reports furnished by the civic body reflect that Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has recommended constructing a new water supply facility to maintain uninterrupted water supply.
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For the record, in a meeting conducted September 26, Lodha has asked residents to nominate members to be inducted in a steering committee that will work in coordination with BMC for chalking out alternative measures for the proposed plan.
Shirsat maintained that the committee formed Tuesday is different in both, composition as well as purpose. “The previous committee largely included residents working in tandem with civic officials to explore alternate solutions. The committee formed today is going to carry out a technical study of the tank,” he said.
The Malabar Hill reservoir is one of the first artificial water reservoirs built to meet regular water requirements of the island city. The reservoir is located beneath Kamala Nehru Park (Hanging Gardens) situated in Malabar Hill, and has a capacity to supply 150 million litres per day (MLD). Malabar Hill is one of the highest locations of Mumbai, and the idea of building the reservoir at an elevated height was to augment the force of water through natural gravitational force
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