Drain authority seeks to begin work on management plan in early 2025

Integrated drain management cell (IDMC) asked the Public Works Department to prepare detailed project reports for the project by September 15

New Delhi

The Najafgarh jheel, which is one of Delhi’s longest drain systems. (HT Archive)

Delhi is seeking to expedite work on its drainage management plan (DMP), officials aware of the matter said, citing a recent meeting in which the integrated drain management cell (IDMC) asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to prepare detailed project reports (DPRs) for the project by September 15 and commence work early next year.

Agencies were also asked to assess the quantity of silt in Delhi’s 22 major drains between October 15 and November 15, officials said. These decisions were taken in the latest IDMC meeting, on July 15, they said.

A government official, who took part in the meeting, said IDMC will be taking administrative decisions on the three basin DPRs before December 31, with work to commence early next year. “The updated deadlines for commencing work on the Najafgarh basin is January 31, 2025, and it is February 28, 2025 for the remaining two basins,” the official, who did not wish to be named, said.

Officials said consultants have been selected for all three basins, the initial report finalised for Najafgarh basin and a ground survey is underway there.

Large parts of Delhi have been waterlogged this monsoon, even during moderate rainfall, leading to at least 33 rain and waterlogging-related deaths, as of August 11. The deaths once again highlighted civic apathy and negligence, and raised questions about Delhi’s 48-year-old drainage system.

Delhi’s current drainage plan was prepared in 1976 and is capable of handling only around 50mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period. Any more and the city’s drains begin to overflow, submerging entire localities and throwing life out of gear.

On April 29, the Delhi government directed the irrigation and flood control (I&FC) department to manage all drains. However, the handover is likely to be completed only by the year-end, the official cited above said.

Of the 22, 14 drains are under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), four are under I&FC, two are under PWD and two others, Khyber Pass and Sonia Vihar, have a jurisdiction overlap between MCD and I&FC.

In the meeting, IDMC was also told all drains, barring the Najafgarh one, would be de-silted by the end of the year. De-silting of Najafgarh drain and removal of encroachments will be done by June 2025, at an estimated cost of ₹404 crore. “For assessment of quantity of silt in each drain, work will commence after monsoon, around October 15. The exercise should take a month and will be finished by November 15,” the official said.

Diwan Singh, an environmental activist said Delhi has been talking about new drainage plans for over a decade, but with little to no execution. “We know Delhi’s existing network cannot handle the amount of rain it receives. Lack of de-silting only makes the situation worse. Until these timelines are met and work begins, we are likely to see similar situation next monsoon too,” Singh said.

It is important to keep Delhi’s topography in mind and utilise stormwater drains to recharge water bodies wherever possible, he said. “The city’s entire water should not be directed towards the Yamuna,” he said.

Officials of PWD did not respond to requests for comment.