BMC to seek fresh survey of 249 landslide-prone sites as Ghatkopar toll rises

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will approach the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for a fresh survey of 249 landslide-prone locations in Mumbai, civic officials said. The last such comprehensive assessment was in 2017. A draft has been readied and will be sent to GSI shortly. The survey will reassess soil morphology and geological stability to see if rocks or soil have loosened further. BMC will ask GSI to classify each location by current risk, high, reduced, or no longer urgent.

The move comes after a landslide in Ghatkopar's Ashok Nagar on August 12 killed eight people and injured seven. The Times of India reports that BMC has persuaded 25 to 50 families to leave the area, but many others have refused. Assistant municipal commissioner Anil Jadhav said the civic body has written to the district collector and the Airports Authority of India, which owns the land, for further directions. Authorities have arranged temporary shelters at Mohili School for those willing to relocate.

The Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP) of 2022 had warned that extreme rainfall, unchecked construction, deforestation and soil erosion were increasing landslide risks. Architect and activist P K Das told The Times of India that continued interference with hills, slopes and mangroves has made landslides inevitable. Former fire brigade officer Rajendra Chaudhary pointed to changing rainfall patterns and excavation at foothills. In the past six years, Mumbai recorded 95 landslides, 38 deaths and 28 injuries.