After nearly two decades, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) can finally hope to begin the construction of the Mahul pumping station in Chembur after the cost of the land was reduced from Rs 118 crore to merely Rs 5.8 crore. The project has remained only on paper for the past 17 years. The BMC has been struggling to acquire land for the pumping station, which was one of the eight such projects recommended by the Chitale Committee after the 2005 Mumbai floods.

The civic body had been in coordination with the salt commissioner, an entity of the Government of India, which owns the land. The officials had received a response from the salt commissioner in July 2022. After two years of follow-ups, with no progress, the BMC officials and the officials from the salt commissioner’s office, held a video conference on July 3, 2024.