Mumbai water crisis deepens, corporator flags irregular supply

Mumbai's water crisis escalates as corporators highlight irregular supply and reliance on costly private tankers amid administration neglect.

Mumbai’s water woes have come under fresh scrutiny after a notice under Section 66-B of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, flagged irregular supply, low pressure, and an alleged tanker mafia nexus in Mumbai, forcing residents to rely on costly private tankers despite the civic body’s statutory obligation to provide regular and clean water. 

At the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) general meeting on Monday (March 16, 2026), Ritesh Rai, a Corporator from Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, proposed a discussion on the issue of water scarcity. 

Ritesh Rai said, “The tanker issue and the irregular water supply in Mumbai are rampant. The administration is ignoring the urbanisation, old pipelines, leakages and irregular water supply. The nexus of tanker mafia is proliferating in Mumbai.” 

The issue was open to discussion in the house. AIMIM party Group leader Vijay Ubale said that there is a population of 18 lakh in his ward, and the water supplied has not been enough. “Have addressed this issue so many times, but no response. Since the pipeline in Mumbai is old, it leaks, and the administration is not doing anything to fix it. Due to this, the common citizens have to suffer. On one hand, the administration is saying that the people in my ward do not pay the water bill; how can they pay the water bill together after five years.“ 

Speaking further, BJP Corporator Praveen Cheda said, “The planning department has failed to do its job as they don’t know the water pipelines are in Mumbai. In my entire ward, ordinary people are paying ₹20 lakh yearly to tankers. Who is going to take responsibility for this?” 

BMC officer Abhijeet Bankar replied to the issue, saying the administration will make police changes in providing the water tankers.