L-G lauds DDA for improving IGIA’s drainage system

New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena appreciated the DDA for its efforts in constructing a new drain near the IGI Airport ensuring it remained free of flooding during the recent downpour, an official statement said on Thursday.

After the flooding of the airport runways and terminal in 2019, the Indira Gandhi International Airport authorities approached the Delhi Development Authorities (DDA), which in turn started construction of the drain connecting the Airport to TD-2 in 2020. However, it got stuck due to a lack of permissions by the Delhi government for more than two years, a Raj Niwas statement said on Thursday.

After taking over, the L-G asked the DDA to move the high court which then directed the Delhi government to approve the required permissions, which finally came in August 2022, the statement read.

An official statement last year had said that the existing two drains at the IGI airport had proved insufficient for discharging rainwater from the airport which often led to severe waterlogging in and around the airport during heavy rains.

Thereafter, the DDA working under the direct supervision of the L-G, completed the project in a record time of 15 months. It was inaugurated in December 2023, it said. The drainage system is built to channelize the rain and storm water discharge from the IGI Airport to Najafgarh Drain, also maintained by the DDA.

In a recent review, the L-G was informed that the drain flowed to its maximum capacity of 80 cumec on the day of the heavy downpour on June 28. It successfully carried the water discharged from the airport and its neighbouring areas, which helped the airport and the areas remain free of waterlogging for the first time in several years, the statement said.