Delhi govt, Opposition lock horns over waterlogging in Kirari

The controversy gained traction a day after visuals of flooded neighbourhoods in Kirari went viral, coinciding with public outrage over a fatal drowning in a water-filled pit in Noida’s Sector 150 earlier this week.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Delhi government was engaged in a tussle with opposition parties in the city on Thursday after videos showing waterlogging in northwest Delhi’s Kirari area were shared on social media.

Public Works Department (PWD) and irrigation and flood control minister Parvesh Verma (PTI)

The controversy gained traction a day after visuals of flooded neighbourhoods in Kirari went viral, coinciding with public outrage over a fatal drowning in a water-filled pit in Noida’s Sector 150 earlier this week.

Public Works Department (PWD) and irrigation and flood control minister Parvesh Verma addressed a press conference in the morning, where he blamed “a decade of neglect” under the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for Kirari’s drainage crisis. Verma cited government records showing that “only ₹43 lakh” was spent on sewage maintenance in Kirari over 11 years and said no comprehensive sewer network had been laid.

He pointed to stalled sewerage projects approved in 2020 but delayed due to “administrative failures and unpaid contractors,” adding that the current government had accelerated work from 70% to 84% completion, laid 54km of new sewer lines, and set a revised completion target of June 2026. “There are multiple ongoing drain remodelling projects worth over ₹800 crore that we are working on, creating a network of smaller sewer lines that will fall into a trunk drain that will be connected to an STP. For 11 years there were excuses, now there is work on the ground,” Verma said.

The AAP countered, alleging the flooding resulted from “deliberate negligence” by BJP-controlled agencies. AAP leaders alleged that garbage from the Bhalswa landfill was being dumped on vacant land in Kirari by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), blocking natural drainage outlets and submerging neighbourhoods. “The local MLAs have written repeatedly to authorities warning about the lack of drainage planning,” said AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bhardwaj.

Adding to the criticism, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi posted on X, criticising systemic governance failures and calling the situation a symbol of a “new normal” of neglect.