Revamped master plan: Delhi govt pushes works on four key drain projects

In September last year, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal, had unveiled a Rs 57,000- crore Delhi Drainage Master Plan 2025, which was termed as a 30-year solution for urban flooding aimed at reducing waterlogging and flooding by 50 per cent in the next five years.

In West Delhi, a 4.5-km-long trunk drain is proposed to address waterlogging in Kirari, Mundka, Bawana and Nangloi. The Rs 220.93-crore project, being implemented by the Irrigation and Flood Control department, has been designed to handle run-off from a catchment of around 1,520 acres with a discharge capacity of 760 cusecs. The drain originates near Mundka Halt station, runs parallel to the railway line and merges with the supplementary drain. A key feature of this project is that water from several secondary drains along the route will also be integrated into it, creating a unified and streamlined drainage system for the entire area, the government said in a statement. An MoU has already been signed with the Railways for work on railway land. The project is expected to be completed within 15 months after approvals.

The government stated that South Delhi’s long-standing waterlogging issues along MB Road, particularly between Lado Sarai T-point and Pul Prahladpur, are to be addressed through a Rs 387.84-crore project being executed by the Public Works Department. The project covers an 11.38-km road stretch, with drains on both sides, totalling 22.76 km. It is scheduled for completion in 2.5 years, including pre-construction work, and includes shifting of utilities, construction of footpaths, and tree transplantation or felling.

In Northwest Delhi, a 7.2-km trunk drain from Kirari to Rithala near Rohini is being developed by the Delhi Development Authority at an estimated cost of Rs 250.21 crore. The drain, designed for a discharge capacity of 1,160 cusecs, had faced delays due to pending tree-felling permissions, which have now been cleared. About 600 metres of the drain has already been constructed.

Besides, improvement work on storm water drains along Rohtak Road is underway at a cost of Rs 184 crore, partly funded through the Centre’s Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment scheme. The targeted deadline of the project is March 2026.

Gupta said the city’s drainage and sewerage master plan was originally prepared in the 1970s and saw limited revisions despite population growth and expansion of built-up areas.

“Delhi’s ‘Drainage Master Plan’ has been prepared keeping in view the city’s rapid urbanisation, climate change and population pressure. Its objective is to enhance the capacity of major trunk drains to ensure safe and swift discharge of rainwater into the Yamuna, reduce pressure on the sewerage system, and provide a permanent solution to the problem of waterlogging,” the chief minister added.