Rs 47 cr set aside for drain work to solve waterlogging near IGIA

New Delhi: As the record-breaking monsoon last year inundated several parts near the Indira Gandhi International Airport, causing officials to seriously start looking for a solution, the Delhi Development Authority this week approved over Rs 47 crore to speed up the work to build and rehabilitate drains in the area — which, when finished will redirect and reuse rainwater and drain water to city parks for horticulture purposes.

In its Budget meeting, the DDA said it had approved Rs 47.49 crore for the upcoming fiscal year for these works, which include the construction of a sewage water drain in Dwarka's Sector-8 area for discharge coming from the Airport.

In addition, the funds will be also used for the development and rehabilitation of Trunk Drain 2 and Trunk Drain 5 so that the drain water discharge from these lines can be reused for horticulture at various city parks — which will play a major role in shifting to environment-friendly water usage.

In fact, the Delhi Jal Board has already introduced a policy along these lines to reuse sewage and drain water for horticulture purposes in parks across the city — thereby saving the need for DJB water tankers to supply water.

The DDA said that the drainage system works planned for the Dwarka sub-city in the 2022-23 time period, will go a long way to solve the water logging issues in the airport area. Officials said once completed, "this project is expected to comprehensively address the problem of inundation of IGI Airport, every time there is heavy rainfall".