Admin to construct drain to divert storm water from Gurugram

Since 2016, Gurugram has been witnessing heavy waterlogging and flooding on major roads as natural drains in the city have been either diverted, encroached or simply remain clogged.

Civic agencies in Gurugram have been directed to find out options for constructing a drain through which storm water from Gurugram can be diverted to the Nuh drain and up to Yamuna river in Palwal, without the need of mechanical pumping, said officials on Thursday, adding that this comes after directions by Union Minister for Housing and Urban Development Manihar Lal Khattar to divert the storm water.

The GMDA has been asked to check the feasibility of a drain from Gurugram to Bhondsi for diverting water without the use of mechanical pumping.

The directions were issued on Wednesday by DS Dhesi, principal advisor, urban development, Haryana government during a meeting held at GMDA office. Senior officials from irrigation department, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), the Gurugram metropolitan development authority (GMDA), Hydrology department were present in the meeting where a detailed discussion was held on finding options to divert water flowing into Najafgarh drain towards Palwal in Yamuna, said a senior GMDA official, present in the meeting.

Since 2016, Gurugram has been witnessing heavy waterlogging and flooding on major roads as natural drains in the city have been either diverted, encroached or simply remain clogged.

With the majority of village ponds having vanished due to unplanned construction, the problem has now prompted the government to look for a major intervention for managing the storm water.

“During the meeting, directions were issued to GMDA, MCG and irrigation department to prepare a detailed report with different options to divert rain water, which causes flooding in the city every year to Nuh Drain. The GMDA has been asked to check the feasibility of a drain from Gurugram to Bhondsi for diverting water without the use of mechanical pumping. The irrigation department has been asked to prepare a plan with multiple options for building the drain from Bhondsi to Nuh Drain. The objective is to retain maximum water in Gurugram and divert excess water to Palwal, and minimise the flow of water into Najafgarh drain,” he said.

As per GMDA officials, the capacity of Najafgarh drain is around 10,000 cusecs but during the monsoon almost 20,000 cusecs flows into this drain, causing waterlogging in hundreds of acres in Gurugram. This year several housing societies and roads along the drain were flooded as excess water flowed into it causing a lot of problems to locals both in Gurugram and neighbouring Delhi.

“In order to resolve this issue permanently, the union urban development ministry has directed the state government agencies to find an alternative solution to the Najafgarh drain,” said the GMDA official.

In addition to constructing the drain, Dhesi also directed the MCG to identify Panchayat lands in Sohna and Gurugram where large water bodies can be constructed for retaining this water, which could be used for agriculture and other purposes. “The civic agencies have been asked to prepare the plan with a focus on taking the water without using mechanical pumping. However, all options are on the table to ensure that water can be diverted to prevent waterlogging in both the cities,” said the GMDA official.

To be sure, on October 3, Khattar had directed the state government agencies to prepare a plan within one month for construction of a drain from Gurugram to Palwal, taking the topography and geography of the drain’s route into account. Khattar suggested that the entire area be studied, considering the natural flow of water as well as the option of lifting it in the hilly areas.