BMC plans digital dashboards at desilting sites to boost transparency

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) may install digital display boards at desilting sites across the city to improve transparency in pre monsoon drain cleaning works, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde said on Friday.

The dashboards will display details of desilting work at drains and culverts, while the civic body will also upload photographs of the process and vehicles transporting silt on an online portal.

The announcement came after Tawde chaired a review meeting on pre monsoon desilting with senior BMC officials, the deputy mayor and heads of civic committees.

The BMC annually desilts minor and major drains and the Mithi river to increase their carrying capacity before the monsoon.

According to civic data, around 80 per cent of the silt is removed before the monsoon, 10 per cent during the rains and the remaining 10 per cent afterwards.

Desilting of the Mithi river, however, has slowed over the past few months amid an Enforcement Directorate probe into the alleged desilting scam.

Civic data shows that no desilting took place in eight of the river’s ten stretches between August 2025 and January 2026.

While 9,930 truckloads of silt were removed between March and July 2025, only 523 trucks were deployed later to desilt two small stretches between Teacher’s Colony and Kurla Kalina bridge and the Airport box culvert.

Officials said desilting work for 2026 27 has begun at about 110 locations but major works, including the Mithi river, remain pending due to lack of bidders.

The BMC has extended the tender deadline to March 17.

Addressing the issue, Tawde said the civic body may relax tender conditions and allow contractors without prior desilting experience to participate.

“We are making changes to the tender to attract more bidders.

Even contractors without prior experience may be allowed, but strict accountability will be fixed if work is not completed on time,” she said.

She added that officials have been directed to ensure that silt is removed from sites within 48 hours, vehicles carrying silt are covered with tarpaulin sheets and designated dumping locations are identified.

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