Eighteen years on, the Mithi River Rejuvenation Project is nowhere close to being complete, with no bidders for the tender floated by the BMC in June 2022 for phase 3 of the project. The civic body and MMRDA have spent Rs 1,150 crore for this ambitious project, which was conceived after the 2005 floods, and work worth Rs 3,692 crore is still pending. This year, the BMC has set aside Rs 654 crore for the project, but the work may not start this year too as it requires relocation of project-affected people.

In this year’s budget, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has reported the same progress about the Mithi river project as last year. Till last year, 95 per cent of the widening and deepening work and 80 per cent of the retaining wall construction along the river that flows from Vihar lake to Mahim have been completed.