NEW DELHI: Additional Chief Secretary Navin Kumar Choudhary has directed senior PWD and flood control department officials to jointly inspect drains in Delhi as part of monsoon preparedness.
The Delhi government had earlier announced that officials would be held responsible if waterlogging occurred in areas identified by the authorities.
The monsoon season in Delhi usually sets in by June end. The public works department (PWD) has set a target to complete drain desilting by May end.
“All executive engineers working in field divisions (are) to jointly inspect all drains of PWD falling in their jurisdiction against the correspondence jurisdictions of executive engineers working for the irrigation and flood control department. Apparently, this exercise has not commenced yet,” according to a PWD order issued on May 21. Choudhary, recently handed over charge of the PWD, also heads the irrigation and flood control department.
“It is directed that all the executive engineers should conduct a joint inspection with the irrigation and flood control department as mentioned above immediately and submit the report in the enclosed pro forma within a week’s time,” according to the order.
The Delhi PWD oversees about 2,026 km of roadside drains connecting to major drains that outfall into the Yamuna. In 2023, 308 waterlogging points were identified; this year, the number has risen to 445, with 335 under PWD’s jurisdiction.
The Delhi government has urged inter-departmental coordination to prevent waterlogging across the national capital during the monsoon season.