₹220-Crore Proposal Submitted to Fix Leakages at Bhatsa Dam in Shahapur

The state irrigation department has submitted a ₹220-crore proposal to carry out urgent repairs on the Bhatsa dam in Shahapur tehsil of Thane district. The reservoir, which supplies a major portion of the daily water requirement for Mumbai, has developed multiple cracks that have resulted in leakages reaching up to 1,633 litres per second at times.

According to the proposal, grouting work must be undertaken immediately to seal the fissures and secure the structure. While the escaping water currently flows into a vertical porous drain and travels downstream toward the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Pise filtration plant without being wasted, officials warned that the persistent leaks pose a serious threat to the integrity of the dam.

Rahul Bhalerao, executive engineer at Bhatsa, stated that the latest repair proposal is under review by the state-level technical advisory committee. Grouting operations will commence as soon as the proposal receives formal approval.

Bhatsa is an older masonry dam, where leakages are relatively common compared to modern concrete structures. The project was initially approved in 1967, with its first phase completed in 1982 and the overall project finished in 2005. The dam stands at a height of 142.07 metres, and its water level recently stood at 139.40 metres, representing 89.89% of its capacity.

The dam previously underwent repair work during 2020-21 following leakages that were identified in 2018. Bhatsa is one of seven major lakes and reservoirs supplying water to Mumbai, and is one of two—alongside Upper Vaitarna—managed directly by the Maharashtra state irrigation department rather than the BMC.