Key drainage, infra projects to be rolled out next week in Delhi

The capital’s new drainage master plan, drafted after 50 years, will be unveiled on Friday. The plan, finalised after multiple failed attempts since 2009, is designed to address Delhi’s recurring waterlogging woes and make the city’s storm water management system resilient.

Several major infrastructure projects are set to be launched over the next week, ranging from the long-awaited drainage master plan to new mobility and safety infrastructure, officials from the Public Works Department (PWD) said on Thursday.

PWD will lay the foundation stone of the Rajputana Rifles foot overbridge (FOB) near Dhaula Kuan

The capital’s new drainage master plan, drafted after 50 years, will be unveiled on Friday. The plan, finalised after multiple failed attempts since 2009, is designed to address Delhi’s recurring waterlogging woes and make the city’s storm water management system resilient.

Officials said the 1976 plan that is still in use was prepared for a city of 60 lakh people. “The new plan factors in a population of 2.5 crore, climate change impacts, and extreme rainfall events,” an official said, adding, the system will be able to handle 65-70mm rainfall at a time, almost three times the current capacity.

The plan has been made using advanced AI tools and integrates drains with water bodies, wetlands and green spaces. Nature-based solutions like rejuvenation of lakes and large-scale rainwater harvesting are core to the project. (Atrribution?)

On September 27, PWD will lay the foundation stone of the Rajputana Rifles foot overbridge (FOB) near Dhaula Kuan. The bridge will provide safe passage for over 3,000 soldiers who currently cross the hazardous Ring Road multiple times daily to reach their training ground. The project was expedited after a Hindustan Times report in May highlighted the regiment’s ordeal of trudging through a culvert or risking a dangerous highway crossing. Following the report, the Delhi High Court took suo motu cognisance and directed agencies to act.

On September 28, the much-delayed Nand Nagri flyover on Wazirabad Road will also be inaugurated. The 1.4-km single-pillar structure, once fully functional, will make the busy corridor from Signature Bridge to Ghaziabad signal-free, in tandem with a double-decker flyover being built by DMRC. The project had faced setbacks over environmental clearance to cut 27 trees but is now in the final stages.

The infra upgrade will culminate on October 2, with the launch of a Yamuna cleaning initiative, officials said.