Mumbai’s civic standing committee has rejected the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Rs 8.25 crore proposal to wash 677 km of roads daily, citing low water stocks in the city’s dams and an ongoing 10% water cut. The decision has put the focus on how Mumbai can control road dust and air pollution without using scarce treated water.
The proposal was opposed by committee members, including representatives of the ruling front, amid concerns over the wider water situation in Maharashtra. The state is facing drought conditions and has sought more than Rs 17,000 crore in central assistance, according to the report. The BMC has estimated that the water stored in the dams supplying Mumbai will last until next June.
BJP group leader Ganesh Khankar demanded that the proposal be shelved because of the city’s water constraints. The committee’s rejection means the civic body will not immediately proceed with its planned road-washing programme, which officials had presented as a measure to control dust pollution and improve public cleanliness.
The proposal had provided for the deployment of water tankers fitted with jetting systems across Mumbai’s seven zones for 150 days. Tankers with capacities of 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 litres were to spray roads with high-pressure water. The civic body had planned to use the system on a large network of roads, although the number cited by members varied during the discussion: the original proposal covered 677 km, while Congress member Ashraf Azmi referred to 377 roads.
Azmi supported using water to address the city’s air-quality concerns, saying the air quality index had reached 151. He also questioned how the BMC would secure sufficient water for road washing when its earlier plan to revive around 4,000 wells for non-potable supply had not been implemented. He demanded a separate hydrant policy to manage rising dust and air pollution and to strengthen water arrangements for the fire brigade and gardens.
Civic officials said the water intended for the programme would be non-potable rather than drinking water. However, the discussion highlighted that Mumbai currently has only one centre for treating sewage water, according to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena member Yashwant Killedar. He said non-potable water could help control road dust, but questioned where the civic body would obtain the volumes needed for daily washing.
Killedar called for infrastructure to process sewage water and urged the BMC to consider alternatives that would not consume scarce water. His remarks shifted the debate beyond the rejected contract to a longer-standing gap in Mumbai’s urban utility system: the limited availability of treated non-potable water for activities such as road cleaning, gardening and other municipal operations.
The BMC has maintained that regular high-pressure cleaning of public roads can reduce dust pollution while improving cleanliness. The committee’s decision leaves that objective without an approved implementation plan under the proposed Rs 8.25 crore programme. The immediate next steps will depend on whether the civic body brings forward a revised dust-control plan, a separate hydrant policy or measures to expand non-potable water treatment capacity.
