Mumbai, May 17 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday alleged that the plan for a desalination plant in Mumbai was both "a scam and PR farce", and demanded that work on the "fanciful" project be stopped immediately.

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The AAP in a statement claimed that Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray's pet project was not only a comical travesty, but also a Rs 3,520-crore scam.

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Last year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had proposed to set up a 200 MLD per day capacity desalination plant to overcome water shortage in the city.

“The desalination plant is both a scam and PR farce being perpetrated on us Mumbaikars, that too at the cost of our own tax money – Rs 1,600 crore in capital costs plus Rs 1,900 crore in operation for mere 20 years shelf life,” the AAP said in a statement.

“Aaditya Thackeray's pet project is not just a comical travesty but a Rs 3,520-crore scam!” the party alleged.

The AAP noted that Thackeray had last week “justified” the “curious” project by saying that Mumbai has a water shortage of 400 MLD and cited that the minister was perhaps "unaware" that the city loses over 800 MLD water in leakages and water theft.

“If he tried fixing the system, there would be surplus water supply. He also failed to mention that this desalination plant would not even come close to meeting half of the 400 MLD daily shortage,” the party claimed, alleging that the project was being planned merely on the minister's whim.

AAP leader Gopal Jhaveri said that the biggest cause for water loss in Mumbai is leaking drains and “failure” in rejuvenating the water table due to high concretisation in the city.

The BMC and Thackeray have both “failed” to address the severe problem of impure water, he said, asking the minister to focus on real problems and not waste people's resources on “absurd” projects.

“The AAP demands that this wasteful, fanciful project be stopped immediately and those responsible for it be held to account,” the party statement said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)