Even as the BMC passed a proposal last week to study the groundwater level situation in Mumbai and examine the threat to the water table, a Chembur resident has prepared a simple plan to replenish the groundwater levels in the city during the monsoons. The plan was sent to the BMC over a month ago.
Activist Rajkumar Sharma had sent a letter to the mayor, municipal commissioner, standing committee chairman and additional municipal commissioner — a copy of which is with The Asian Age — highlighting a solution to the depleting water table problem.
The letter states, “We have buildings with compounds that are tiled, cemented etc, not leaving an inch for rainwater to seep into the soil during the monsoon. Earlier, there used to be trees planted in the compounds of most buildings, but that trend is also fast decreasing. After the compound walls, there are storm water drains, footpaths over them or next to them and then the asphalt or concrete roads(sic).”
According to Mr Sharma, as a result, rainwater is unable to enter the soil to replenish gro-undwater. “Eventually, rainwater goes down the drain and water levels get depleted, he said.
In the letter, Mr Sharma has suggested drilling holes of two feet in diameter and 10 feet deep at a distance of 200 metres. “These cylinders or holes should then be filled with big stones up to three feet followed by smaller stones, also three feet deep,” he states, adding, “This should then be covered with even smaller stones up to two feet. Finally, fill the remaining two feet with pebbles. At the road-level, metal nets can be fixed. This will help rain water flow into these pits and directly enter the soil. It will also help reduce the flooding issue of Mumbai.”
When contacted, standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale said, “I have received his letter and we are yet to check its technical feasibility. We can only implement the project after a detailed study, provided it is beneficial for Mumbai. I will be meeting Mr Sharma shortly.”