Delhi CM Rekha Gupta inspecting the desilting work with L-G V.K. Saxena on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena, and Irrigation and Flood Control Department (I&FCD) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh on Monday visited a stretch of the Sunehri Pul drain near Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in south Delhi to take stock of the desilting work that started this earlier week.
The work started in the wake of the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) remarks last month on the slow pace of desilting of the Sunehri Pul and Kushak drains ahead of the monsoon. The desilting of the Kushak drain is yet to begin. After the visit, Ms. Gupta said that the Sunehri Pul drain had been covered with concrete slabs, which had to be cut open for the maintenance work.
“During the monsoon, these drains would get clogged, leading to severe waterlogging in nearby residential colonies. Using advanced machinery, we are cutting open the concrete to remove layers of accumulated silt that have settled over several years,” said the CM.
Tribunal proceedings
The I&FCD manages 24 major drains in the city, including Sunehri Pul and Kushak, all of which flow into the Yamuna river.
On February 21, while hearing petitions on waterlogging in Delhi, the NGT had asked the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the I&FCD to submit an undertaking that the desilting of 23 drains would be completed by May 31, 2025 and that of the Najafgarh drain by June 30, 2027. The ACS later informed the tribunal that portions of the Sunehri Pul and Kushak drains were covered with concrete, causing impediments in the desilting work.
On March 11, the official submitted a report stating that the I&FCD will desilt the open portions of the two drains while the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will desilt the covered portions. “For desilting the box [covered] portion of the Kushak drain, the MCD will issue an expression of interest within seven days,” added the report.
Published – March 20, 2025 01:00 am IST