2 min readMar 21, 2026 06:14 PM IST
With the city recording an increase in flood-prone sites over the past one year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has plans to deploy 547 dewatering pumps this monsoon, marking a jump of over seven percent from the previous year when 510 such pumps were deployed to tackle flooding. The plan is estimated to cost Rs 144 crore, with the highest number of pumps to be deployed in the western suburbs.
On Friday, the civic body floated a tender inviting contractors to operate and maintain dewatering pumps across the city during the monsoon. Ahead of every monsoon, these pumps are installed across the city’s low-lying and flood-prone pockets to flush accumulated rainwater into the nearest drains.
This year, BMC will install these pumps along 547 flood-prone pockets, of which 223 will be in the western suburbs, 178 in the eastern suburbs and 146 in the island city.
This marks a rise from the previous year when the BMC installed 510 pumps in the city, after the initially proposed 417 pumps proved ineffective during extreme rains that lashed Mumbai on May 26, 2025, its earliest monsoon onset in over 75 years. In 2024, the municipal body had pressed 482 dewatering pumps.
Speaking to The Indian Express, senior BMC officials attributed the need to deploy more pumps to higher demands from ward officials. “Ongoing construction at the ward level for projects like Metro, roads and bridge has increased flood-prone locations in several wards,” an official said.
Data shows Mumbai has witnessed a 10 percent spike in flood-prone locations over the past one year with 498 flooding spots identified in Mumbai this year, against 453 in the previous year. Of the total flooding spots, BMC has addressed 391 locations while 52 are slated to be remedied over the next two months before the onset of monsoon. Meanwhile, plans have been drawn to tackle the remaining 55 flooding spots of which 26 which will be addressed in coordination with railways, Metro, traffic department and MMRDA.
To tackle waterlogging in flood-prone pockets, BMC will rope in contractors for a period of two years to operate the dewatering pumps.
