Archive · 14 Jan 2026
Mithi River Pollution Persists Despite Massive Funds
The Mithi River in Mumbai is very polluted.
Even though a lot of money has been set aside to clean it, not much has been done.
The water is full of sewage and harmful things.
This makes people living nearby sick.
The river used to flood a lot, but some work has been done to stop that.
However, the river is still very dirty, and the people in charge are not doing enough to fix it.
Experts say they need to treat the dirty water better and stop it from going into the river.
Mithi River's water quality has deteriorated sharply with persistent sewage contamination and pollution.
Over Rs 6,300 crore allocated for mitigation projects, but Rs 6,378 crore remains unspent.
Water Quality Index (WQI) fell from 41.03 in 2008 to 27.60 in 2024, indicating heavy pollution.
Faecal coliform levels rose 2.5 times between 2009 and 2024, exceeding permissible limits.
BMC has struggled with executing projects, with delays and stalled initiatives.
- Who
- Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)
- What
- Persistent pollution and untreated sewage in Mithi River despite allocated funds and projects
- When
- Ongoing issue with significant data from 2008 to 2025
- Where
- Mithi River, Mumbai, India
- Why
- Inadequate execution of pollution control projects and persistent sewage contamination
- Total funds allocated
- Rs 6,300 crore
- Funds unspent
- Rs 6,378 crore
- Water Quality Index (WQI) in May 2024
- 27.60 (heavily polluted)
- Faecal coliform levels in 2024
- 3199.17 units per ml
- Permissible faecal coliform limit
- 2,500 per 100 ml
- Untreated sewage entering Mithi
- 309 MLD
- River length under BMC
- 11 km
- River length under MMRDA
- 6 km