The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to revive its plan to partner with women from self-help groups (SHGs) to boost water tax collection. The project will begin two months from now, after the monsoon season ends.

Starting September or October 2025, women from SHGs will go door to door in non-high-rise areas, urging residents to clear their pending water dues. In return, they will be financially incentivised based on performance. Initially, the scheme will run as a pilot in selected parts of Mumbai that are neither slums nor posh high-rise localities. The monsoon period will be used to complete administrative procedures and issue contracts.

According to civic officials, the BMC manages to collect up to 60 per cent of its annual water tax dues. The rest is carried forward year after year. As per the BMC’s budget, the civic body collected Rs 1577.41 crore in water and sewage charges in 2022–23, and R1629.53 crore in 2023–24. Till December 2024, it had collected Rs 1141.56 crore.