Archive · 22 Sep 2026
BMC Sets May 2028 Deadline for Mumbai Nullah Steel Nets
Mumbai’s civic agency wants to put tall steel nets beside many waterways.
The nets are meant to stop people from throwing garbage into the water.
Officials say similar nets have already worked in some places.
The next project is along the Vakola River, where floating waste has caused serious pollution.
Garbage in waterways can make them narrower and increase the risk of flooding during heavy rain.
The agency wants to finish covering major nullahs by May 2028.
It may be difficult to install nets in places such as Mankhurd and Dharavi.
This is because homes and huts are built very close to the waterways.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation plans to install steel nets across all major suburban nullahs by May 2028.
The nets are intended to stop garbage dumping, reduce blocked waterways and improve monsoon preparedness.
A garbage-trapping net is being installed along the Vakola River near the Dnyaneshwar slum settlement.
Officials said nets at Main Avenue Nullah and South Avenue Nullah have significantly reduced dumping.
The plan faces challenges in Mankhurd and Dharavi, where huts and encroachments leave little space beside nullah walls.
- Who
- The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, including its Storm Water Drains Department, is carrying out the plan.
- What
- The civic body plans to install 10-foot-high steel garbage-trapping nets across major nullahs and along part of the Vakola River.
- When
- The pilot began in December 2023, and the overall installation deadline is May 2028.
- Where
- The work covers Mumbai’s major nullahs, including areas near the Vakola River, Mankhurd, Dharavi, Bandra West and the Mithi River.
- Why
- The nets are intended to prevent garbage dumping, reduce blocked waterways and improve preparedness for monsoon-related waterlogging.
- Deadline
- May 2028
- Net height
- 10 feet
- Pilot launch
- December 2023 in P&T Colony, Bandra West
- Major nullahs
- 314 across Mumbai
- Combined length
- 300.131 km
- Current project
- A garbage-trapping steel net along the Vakola River’s retaining wall
- Main challenge
- Encroachments and huts built beside nullah walls in areas including Mankhurd and Dharavi