Mumbai: The long-pending proposal for Mogra stormwater pumping station in Andheri West — conceived after the devastating July 26, 2005 floods — has moved a step closer to reality, with the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) recommending the project to the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEF&CC) for coastal clearance despite it falling within a protected mangrove buffer zone. The MoEF&CC meeting is scheduled on Wednesday.The proposed pumping station, along with tidal gates, retaining walls and allied infrastructure, is planned along Mogra nullah near Oshiwara and Lokhandwala.Civic officials told the MCZMA that nearly 1.5 lakh residents in Andheri West and surrounding areas face chronic flooding every monsoon because Mogra nullah lacks the capacity to discharge stormwater during high-tide conditions.The project is part of the post-2005 flood mitigation plan recommended by the Chitale Committee and the BRIMSTOWAD report, which had proposed eight pumping stations across Mumbai. While six, including Lovegrove, Haji Ali and Cleveland Bunder, have been built, the Mogra and Mahul stations remained pending.MCZMA has recommended the proposal to the MoEF&CC for final CRZ clearance, subject to multiple conditions. These include obtaining prior permission from Bombay high court as the project lies within a mangrove buffer zone, securing a no-objection certificate from the mangrove cell, and ensuring no debris is dumped within CRZ areas.A civic official said that once all permissions are in place, the BMC will inform the HC and seek final approval for construction of the pumping station.“After securing the necessary clearances, the contractor will begin hydraulic studies and sump model studies to assess performance and optimise design. These will be vetted by IIT-Bombay. The design work for the pumping station has already begun, and on-site construction is expected to start after the monsoon,” said the official.Dhaval Shah of the Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association said, “Mogra nullah ferries large amount of sewage and rainwater along a long stretch, which is heavily encroached, leading to heavy flooding along the flow path like Andheri subway, Veera Desai Road and Lokhandwala. A pumping station is needed on an urgent basis to reduce the flooding which is disturbing the lives of one million plus residents of Andheri. The flow path, which is reduced due to slums and nearby new buildings, needs restoration else the project will be a failure.”
