The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has secured online clearance from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) for its proposed Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant at Manori in Mumbai's western suburbs, The Free Press Journal reported .
The civic body is now awaiting the final go-ahead from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), after which construction could begin before the onset of the monsoon.
The plant will start with a capacity of 200 MLD, with provisions to scale up to 400 MLD.
The contract was awarded in December to GVPR Engineers Limited at an estimated cost of Rs 11,166.17 crore, which includes Rs 4,077 crore for construction and covers 20 years of operation and maintenance, power, taxes and lifecycle expenses.
However, ground work cannot begin until all statutory environmental approvals are secured.
The BMC had originally received MCZMA approval in 2023 through an offline process, but was required to reapply after procedural changes made online submissions mandatory, with the authority now forwarding its recommendations directly to the central government.
"Subsequent to receipt of MCZMA clearance, the proposal is now awaited for listing before the MoEFCC for appraisal within the current fortnight," a senior civic official stated.
Since MoEFCC appraisal meetings take place every two weeks, the BMC expects to receive the final environmental clearance by the end of April.
On the ground, a drone survey of the project site has been completed and the state government has handed over possession of the 12-hectare plot at Manori, with the formal land transfer still in progress.
Once operational, desalinated water will be transported from Manori to Charkop and then through a tunnel shaft at Mahavir Nagar in Kandivali. A tender for designing and building the conveyance tunnel has already been floated.
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