Check dam on Dahisar river gets BMC permission

A citizens' campaign to revive the 12-kilometre Dahisar river has got a leg up by the city administration, which on Tuesday granted the necessary permissions for building a long-awaited check dam on the river, like the one at Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali.

This would be the first check dam to be built on a river in urban Mumbai, after River March, a citizens' movement to save the metropolitan's four rivers, convinced the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) of the benefits of the structure, namely recharging the underground.

The citizens had cited the 14-year-old Chitale Commission report, prepared by hydrologist Madhav Chitale, which recommended a weir on the river.

River March, which had approached Art Of Living (AOL) Foundation to help build the Kolhapuri-type check dam, had secured the forest department's no-objection certificate last December. But the civic permits were pending.

"Since the check dam will be connected to the retaining walls that have been built by the BMC on both sides of Dahisar river, their permissions were mandatory despite the NOC by the forest department," said Vikram Chogle, the local BJP politician, who has been supporting the community project.

The BMC initially had its reservations about the project. Chogle said the storm water drains (SWD) department had raised some concerns.

"But we had a meeting with additional municipal commissioner Vijay Singhal on Friday and convinced him about the benefit of this five-foot dam that would help raise the water table in the area. We also met officials from the SWD department and finally received the permission letter on May 15," Chogle said.

River March founder Gopal Jhaveri said the BMC has put forward two conditions — that the check dam be certified for its structural stability, and its plates be removed from June 1 to September 30 every year. 
"The check dam will ensure that there is an 800-metre stretch of water storage post-monsoon and four-to-five-foot deep water collected in the river outside SGNP round the year. This will help recharge the groundwater table as well as bring back biodiversity in the surrounding area," he said.

AOL co-ordinator Himanshu Mehta said the dam, estimated to cost around Rs 22 lakh, would be partially funded by AOL. The rest will come from citizens' contributions.