Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena with Chief Minister of Delhi Rekha Gupta, Minister for Irrigation & Flood Control of Delhi, Parvesh Verma and other officials inspection of covered portion of Sunheri Pul drain at DTC bus depot, in New Delhi on Wednesday. March 19, 2025.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
After the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last month pointed out issues with desilting of covered portions of Sunehri Pul Drain and Kushak Drain in south Delhi, work has begun to desilt the former.
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena, and the Irrigation and Flood Control Department (I&FCD) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh visited desilting of the covered portion of Sunehri Pul Drain, which has begun after cutting part of the concrete.
After the visit, Ms. Gupta said that the drain was covered with concrete and when it was constructed, no one thought about how to clean it when it gets filled in the future.
“During the monsoon, these drains would get clogged, leading to severe waterlogging issues in nearby residential colonies. Using advanced machinery, we are making cuts into the drain to remove layers of accumulated silt that have been settling for years,” the CM said.
She also said that until these big drains are cleaned, the smaller drains cannot be fixed and they will continue to overflow.
Mr. Singh said that to address the issue comprehensively, suction machines are being deployed to remove the accumulated waste efficiently. The filtered water is then treated and released back into the drain, improving drainage flow and preventing future blockages, he said.
24 major drains
The I&FCD manages 24 major drains in the city, which ultimately flow into the Yamuna.
On February 21, while hear petitions on waterlogging, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), I&FCD to submit an undertaking by that desilting of 23 will be completed by May 31, 2025 and that of Najafgarh drain will be complete by June 30, 2027.
On February 25, the ACS in his affidavit submitted to the NGT highlighted the issues with covered portions of both Kushak Drain and Sunehri Pul Drain.
On February 27, the NGT said in an order that the ACS has informed that that the communications were sent to the MCD for opening the certain covered portions of two drains, but there was no response from the MCD and I&FCD does not have the power to break open the covered portion.
On March 11, the I&FCD submitted a report to the NGT that the it will desilt the open portions of the two drains, while the MCD will desilt the covered portions of the drains.
The report further said that the MCD has informed that it is addressing the issue of cleaning the Sunehri Pul Drain, by cutting the covered portion of the drain at the bus depot near Dayal Singh college. “For the desilting of the box portion of Kushak drain, the MCD will issue an expression of interest (EOI) within seven days to explore feasible methods for desilting,” the report said.
A statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) however did not mention anything about the Kushak Drain.
Published – March 20, 2025 07:42 am IST