Mumbaikars Can Now Track BMC's Nullah Cleaning In Real-time; Here's How

Mumbai: In a bid to bring greater transparency to its monsoon preparedness, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has launched a new initiative to make nullah cleaning work visible to the public. Citizens can now access videos of the ongoing desilting operations through a dedicated online portal: https://swd.mcgm.gov.in/wms2025. According to BMC officials, this move aims to allow residents to monitor and verify the work being carried out across the city’s drainage network.

As part of its pre-monsoon action plan, the BMC has intensified desilting work in Mumbai’s major and minor drains. To ensure accountability and proper supervision, contractors are now required to capture photographs and 30-second video clips of the desilting process. For smaller drains, CCTV footage is mandated both before and after the work is completed. These video recordings are being analysed with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), enabling real-time monitoring and ensuring the authenticity of the work being done.

Details On Progress Of Desilting Works

So far, the BMC has completed 18.05 per cent of the total desilting target citywide. This includes efforts across the eastern and western suburbs, the island city, the Mithi river, and other minor drains. The target is to remove 10.06 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of silt before the May 31 deadline. As of April 21, a total of 1.81 lakh MT of silt has been removed.

To assess the ongoing desilting work across Mumbai's major drains (major nullah), Municipal Commissioner & Administrator Shri Bhushan Gagrani held a review meeting at the BMC headquarters, today.

Shri Gagrani directed to make a drain-wise and day-wise action plan for the… pic.twitter.com/36iqsa7deW

— माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC (@mybmc) April 11, 2025

The storm water drains (SWD) department, which is overseeing the project, began operations in the last week of March. A total of 23 contractors have been appointed for the task, backed by a budget allocation of Rs 540 crore for a two-year period. In a coastal and flood-prone city like Mumbai, desilting is a critical monsoon preparation activity to ensure efficient drainage and minimise waterlogging.

Mumbai’s drainage infrastructure comprises 283 major drains and rivers spanning 274.56 km, 1,488 minor drains covering 637.3 km, and 4,211 roadside drains extending over 2,181.4 km. According to SWD department data, the eastern suburbs have seen the highest progress with 36.16 per cent of desilting completed and 44.43 thousand MT of silt removed.

This is followed by 30.4 per cent in the western suburbs (63.15 thousand MT), 20.34 per cent in the city area (6 thousand MT), 13.69 per cent for the Mithi river (29.33 thousand MT), and 8.9 per cent in minor drains (38.56 thousand MT). The removed silt is temporarily kept by the roadside for 48 hours to dry before being transported for disposal.

(with inputs from Devashri Bhujbal)

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