Explained: Encroachment, poor urban planning add to Delhi’s waterlogging woes

Central and South East Delhi were hit the hardest, with Teen Murti Marg, Mother Teresa Crescent, Tughlak Road, Pul Prahladpur, Sarita Vihar and Baradpur seeing the maximum number of complaints.

Why do Delhi roads get waterlogged?

Over the years, Delhi’s drainage system has fallen prey to encroachment and poor planning. Most storm water drains in the Capital are the ones that have been carved out by the natural flow of water over hundreds of years. With unplanned development taking place in the Capital, many of them were encroached upon, covered and obstructed. This means the water did not have an outlet anymore. To add to the problems, several sewer networks have been mixed with storm water drains and when it rains, the system gets overwhelmed.

Concretisation also has an important part to play, with very little open space remaining where water can be absorbed into the earth. These concerns have been raised by environment and water experts in the city for decades but a solution has not been effected.

Solutions to Delhi’s waterlogging

For several years now, the Delhi government has planned to put in place a drainage master plan that will work on road redesign, clearing out key storm water drains, delinking sewer lines from storm water drains among other problems to rid Delhi of the annual hardship.

PWD had floated tenders to appoint consultants to provide solutions for the problems being encountered in water discharge. This was supposed to happen in March but only two bidders came forward and both of them were rejected by the assessor. A new tender was then floated in May. The consultant is expected to provide actionable and implementable solutions, along with a roadmap for the engineering solutions.

“The scope of work will include consideration of parameters to improve the drainage network of the Najafgarh Basin falling under the jurisdiction of Delhi. Once appointed, the consultancy will provide solutions for individual drainage and locations and also at a macro level,” an official had told The Indian Express.

The consultants will also survey the existing pipelines, drains, and other possible storm water disposal systems at all probable waterlogging locations and invert the level of the drains, road levels. The adjoining ground levels will be recorded so as to provide effective drainage solutions (without siltation conditions). Besides this, consultants will also do a hydraulic study and assess the environmental impact and prepare a detailed project providing drainage solutions at various levels, along with drains and an estimate for the construction work.