To tackle the annual menace of potholes during monsoon, the BMC has deployed 227 engineers across Mumbai’s 227 electoral wards. Tasked with monitoring and repairing roads daily, these engineers are part of a citywide effort to ensure safer commuting and minimise traffic disruptions as the civic body adopts stronger materials and tech-enabled monitoring for timely repairs.
As the monsoon clouds gather over Mumbai, the city’s civic body has rolled out an aggressive response plan to pre-empt what has become an annual civic nightmare. Potholes, which routinely emerge and worsen with the first few spells of rain, not only damage vehicles but also cause accidents and choke arterial routes. To combat this, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has deployed a decentralised team of 227 secondary engineers — one for each electoral ward — tasked with continuous road surveillance and immediate intervention. These engineers are now responsible for maintaining stretches of 10 to 15 kilometres within their assigned zones throughout the monsoon season. Their brief: detect potholes early, report them promptly, and ensure swift rectification before they grow into larger threats.
A senior official from the civic Roads and Transport Department confirmed that a high-level review meeting led to new operating guidelines. These include directives to repair potholes while they are still minor — ideally when they are between 6 to 12 inches in size — and to use a square-cut method for filling to prevent uneven road patches and future cracks. In a shift from earlier practices that often invited criticism, the BMC has made a significant materials policy change this year. Cold mix, frequently blamed for temporary fixes that don’t last beyond a few days of rain, has been ruled out for use on roads wider than six metres. Instead, materials like mastic asphalt and Geo Polymer Concrete have been mandated — both known for their resilience against heavy traffic and weathering, offering longer-lasting results.
To ensure transparency and accountability, the civic body has introduced a tech-based monitoring system. Mastic cookers used for heating and applying road repair materials have now been fitted with GPS trackers, enabling real-time tracking of their movements across repair routes. A detailed vehicle tracking system (VTS) and deployment schedule are being finalised to avoid gaps in coverage and to support timely intervention in critical zones. Recognising the need to balance civic work with daily urban mobility, the BMC has strategically planned intensive repair works during weekends. This approach aims to avoid traffic congestion on weekdays while allowing uninterrupted access for maintenance teams on relatively free roadways.
Civic officials have acknowledged that potholes in Mumbai are more than just a seasonal nuisance — they reflect deeper issues of drainage inefficiency, construction quality, and fragmented accountability. With the updated approach, the BMC aims not just for patchwork repairs, but a systemic improvement in road durability and citizen experience. Experts working closely with the civic body note that the deployment of ward-specific engineers introduces an element of hyper-local responsibility, improving both response time and quality oversight. Each engineer will be directly accountable for their assigned zone, with internal dashboards tracking performance and timelines.
Mumbai’s residents, no strangers to flooded roads and bumpy commutes, have grown increasingly vocal in their demand for long-term infrastructure solutions. Citizen complaints about potholes have risen steadily in recent years, prompting judicial scrutiny, viral social media campaigns, and even protest-driven ‘pothole art’ to call attention to the issue. Against this backdrop, the current repair strategy is being seen as a test of the BMC’s capacity for urban resilience. Transport policy analysts suggest that sustained improvements will depend not only on this monsoon’s efforts, but on how the city integrates drainage upgrades, climate-adaptive materials, and routine road audits beyond the rainy season.
While it’s too early to predict the outcome of the latest pothole action plan, the city’s infrastructure response this year appears to be more measured, data-driven, and decentralised than in previous years. The use of alternative materials, the tech-backed mobility plan, and clear responsibilities for engineers mark a shift from crisis management to prevention. However, civil society voices have cautioned that real success will depend on timely execution. Road contractors, who often work in silos and face allegations of poor workmanship, will now be under heightened scrutiny — both from officials and the public.
As Mumbai enters another wet season, the city’s resilience will once again be tested. For now, the civic body’s early groundwork and strengthened systems offer a sliver of optimism that commuters might finally see a monsoon without navigating cratered roads and mounting frustration. If this pothole-prevention strategy is executed with rigour and transparency, it could pave the way — quite literally — for a safer, more efficient, and sustainably managed Mumbai.
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