Govt to take up 3 drain remodelling projects in north Delhi: Minister

New Delhi: The Delhi government has given financial approval to three major drain remodelling projects worth more than Rs 125 crore in north Delhi, PWD minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said on Tuesday.

According to Public Works Department (PWD) officials, the areas have witnessed frequent instances of waterlogging in the past few years, and the work will be carried out as per the suggestion under the Drainage Masterplan 2025.

“As laid down in the Drainage Master Plan, these projects form part of a structured and integrated effort to address chronic waterlogging in North Delhi. The focus is on planned drain remodelling across connected stretches so that long-standing infrastructure gaps are resolved in a systematic manner,” Singh said, according to a statement.

The approach moves away from ad hoc arrangements and ensures durable, well-planned improvement, he said.

“The approved projects include remodelling of the stormwater drain as per the New Master Drainage Plan-2025 from Azadpur H-Point to Mukarba Chowk on Mall Road Extension. The total length of the affected area is 7.74 km, and the estimated construction cost is Rs 33.11 crore,” the minister said. Another project on the Mall Road Extension will be to remodel drains starting from Camp Chowk to Azadpur H-Point, and a sum of Rs 44.38 crore has been sanctioned for the 0.81-kilometre project.

“The Azadpur area already has a large drain, but every monsoon season, waterlogging is witnessed on this road and areas in front of the Jahangirpuri Industrial area. This is a welcome step if the government is remodelling the existing drainage system,” Nishant Gulati, a trader at Azadpur Mandi, said.

In north Delhi’s Model Town–II, Model Town-III, and Kushal Cinema Road, a similar drain remodelling has been taken up by the PWD, for which a fund of Rs 48.13 crore has been approved. “In Model Town-III, the drainage situation is in a poor state. There is a very frequent waterlogging problem, and sometimes sewer water mixes with the rainwater during the monsoon season,” said Sanjay Gupta, RWA president of Model Town. The length of the area covered under this project will be around 8 km.

Designed to meet the city’s drainage requirements over the next 30 years, the Delhi government unveiled the much-awaited drainage master plan for Delhi in September last year.

The plan suggests implementation in five years across the city in two phases, aiming to reduce waterlogging episodes by 50 per cent in the next three years and flood-related accidents by 30 per cent in the next five years, at the estimated cost of Rs 57,362 crore.