Inflows to twin reservoirs begin; Water Board steps up monsoon preparedness

As Mumbai waits for the monsoon, water supply in the city has been cut by 10% since May 15, after water levels in the seven lakes that supply water, have fallen. The lakes depend entirely on seasonal rainfall to be filled, commonly causing water cuts in the summers.

Adding to this situation, on June 7, the Mumbai Water Tanker Association went on strike. The strike was called off two days later following an intervention by Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Mumbai receives around 4,100 million litres per day against an estimated demand of 4,665 MLD, leaving a shortfall of about 565 MLD. Private water tankers fill this gap.

The tanker association was protesting against notices issued by the state government ordering ring-well and borewell operators to stop supplying water to tankers until they obtain fresh licenses from the Central Ground Water Authority.

The tanker association protest has drawn attention to a larger issue: Mumbai’s heavy dependence on groundwater and the limited oversight of its extraction.

Mumbai’s water demand exceeds its supply, increasing the city’s dependence on alternative sources such as water tankers. Image by Esha Lohia. “Mumbai has more than 17,364 wells used for the commercial sale of water,” says groundwater activist Suresh Kumar Dhoka, citing information obtained through an RTI application.

In 2015, the National Green Tribunal made it mandatory for all commercial groundwater users to obtain No Objection Certificates from the Central Ground Water Authority. As of May 2025, only 619 wells , mostly borewells, had received No Objection Certificates for monitoring and charging purposes.

Earlier this year, a complaint filed by Dhoka triggered an investigation into hundreds of wells in Mumbai’s western suburbs. Officials reported that 27 wells and borewells were extracting groundwater without a no objection certificate issued by the Central Ground Water Authority in R/C Central division.

Extracting groundwater for commercial use without a No Objection Certificate violates groundwater rules and is punishable with a fine or imprisonment under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

Following the current protests by the water tanker association, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray echoed their concerns. In a June 9 letter to Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, he urged the government to amend the Central Ground Water Authority’s norms for Mumbai and other densely populated cities, describing them as “impractical and highly restrictive” for water extraction.

Groundwater dependency

Historically, Mumbai relied on an extensive network of wells and tanks for its water supply. However, the commissioning of the Vihar water project in 1860 marked the city’s shift towards dams, pipelines and reservoirs managed by public authorities. Today, Mumbai draws water from seven lakes – Tulsi and Vihar within the city, and five others located in Palghar, Thane and Nashik districts.

Despite this extensive system, the city faces a water deficit of about 565 MLD, which is filled by private water tankers. “There are 500 water tanker owners and 2,100 water tankers that operate in Mumbai. We supply around 550 MLD to Mumbai each day,” says Ankur Sharma, spokesperson of MWTA.

These tankers primarily supply non-potable water to construction sites, malls, hotels, housing societies and other commercial users. While tanker owners purchase some water from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, they primarily rely on groundwater extracted through borewells.

Experts say the issue extends beyond licensing violations. Sitaram Shelar, a right-to-water activist and convener of the Pani Haq Samiti, a people’s campaign for universal access to water, claims that tanker operators often purchase small parcels of land in areas with high water tables and install borewells to extract groundwater. According to him, almost every housing society in Mumbai has at least one borewell.

Yet groundwater extraction remains poorly monitored. A Central Ground Water Board report on groundwater quality in Maharashtra records no monitoring borewells in Mumbai, and only six and 19 monitoring dug wells in Mumbai city and suburban areas, respectively. Shelar describes this as a “planned data gap”.

He alleges that a nexus exists among borewell contractors, housing societies and some officials involved in granting permissions. “There is a nexus of borewell diggers, pest control officers (PCO) from the BMC and housing societies. The PCO permits the digging of a borewell, while the engineer’s job is to inspect the site. Still, often, many boreholes are rigged without applying the required permissions, and PCO informed us that they are not authorised to monitor these borewells, which are illegally extracting groundwater.”

Environmental activist Zoru Bhathena points to another source of stress on groundwater resources. “Unlike earlier times, basements today are at least four floors deep under the ground. This requires dewatering the immedia…