First phase of Delhi’s drainage master plan to last 3 years till 2028-29

Delhi's drainage master plan will remodel infrastructure over three years at ₹21,068 crore, addressing waterlogging in vulnerable areas.

In its review of the Capital’s new drainage master plan, the Delhi government has decided that the first phase for remodelling of drainage infrastructure will last for three years till 2028-29 at a cost of ₹21,068 crore, senior government officials said.

First phase of Delhi’s drainage master plan to last 3 years till 2028-29

These interventions have been divided across six departments with the Public works department (PWD) and municipal corporation of Delhi (MCD) getting the bulk of the allocations at ₹7,921 and ₹7454 crore, respectively. The other agencies involved include the Irrigation and Flood Control department ( ₹2,042 crore), the Delhi Jal Board ( ₹1,518 crore), the New Delhi Municipal Council ( ₹1,246 crore), and the Delhi Development Authority at ( ₹280 crore).

“During the ongoing financial year, 59 major drainage remodelling related projects will be taken up with capital expenditure of ₹1,869 crore,” said a government official. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had recently reviewed the drainage improvements and waterlogging prevention measures instructing expediting the interventions at major vulnerable points.

“Ten more tenders will be awarded by May 15 and most of these works have a deadline of competition by March 2027,” the official explained.

Another senior government official said that vulnerable areas that need priority interventions will be taken up in this first phase.

Some of the projects being taken up this year include remodelling from Jail Road to Pankha Road, pre-casting drain and remodelling of the Mangolpuri region drains, a trunk drain along the railway lines in Mundka-Kirari-Bawana belt.

It also includes works on Model Town-2 Road, Model Town-3 Road and Kushal Cinema Road. ₹48.13 crore has been approved for the Azadpur H-Point to Mukarba Chowk stretch on the Mall Road Extension. For the Camp Chowk to Azadpur H-Point stretch of around 10.81 km, ₹44.38 crore has been approved.

The ₹57,364-crore master plan was unveiled last year to overhaul the 18,958km of drain network in the city. It aims to address chronic waterlogging by dividing the city into three key basins—Najafgarh, Barapullah, and Trans-Yamuna. “As per our estimates, interventions worth ₹33,500 crore would be required in Najafgarh basin, the largest with 918 sq km catchment area, ₹14,547 crore in Barapullah (376 sq km) and ₹9,317 crore in Trans-Yamuna (197 sq km),” said the senior official quoted above.

Last month, the PWD initiated a new construction approach for storm water drains across Delhi, mandating the use of precast drain boxes in place of the conventional cast-in-situ method. The shift is a part of an ongoing citywide drain remodelling exercise aligned with the drainage master plan, under which over two dozen tenders have already been floated.

BS Vohra, who heads East Delhi RWA joint front said that their belt in Krishan Nagar floods during the monsoons every where for the last 3-4 decades. “Does Krishna Nagar figure anywhere in their plan? On a larger question, they should make the master plan public with list of areas and what interventions are being planned. Government should not be so secretive. More transparency, public feedback and participative process is needed. Otherwise, the government will keep changing and people would remain stuck with their grievances.”