HC asks Delhi chief secy, finance secy to explain plan to tackle waterlogging during monsoon

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court asked the chief secretary and finance secretary of the city government on Tuesday to appear before it virtually and explain how they intend to tackle the issue of waterlogging in the national capital and whether the drainage master plan has been prepared.

The court noted that due to heavy rains during monsoon, a number of residential areas witnessed a backflow of sewage and that the stormwater drains have not been segregated from the drains carrying sewage in Delhi.

"It is common knowledge that drains are normally choked with silt and drains are not constructed by taking the proper depth level and height into consideration. Most of the drains are not integrated and broken at places," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P S Arora said.

The bench directed the Delhi chief secretary and finance secretary to appear before it virtually on January 30, the next date of hearing in the matter.

"We also direct them to present a short presentation as to how they intend to tackle the issue of waterlogging and whether the drainage master plan has been prepared and whether the same is being implemented," it said.

The court was hearing two suo-motu petitions, initiated on its own, on Delhi's waterlogging problem and the issue of rainwater harvesting and easing the traffic situation in the national capital during monsoon and other periods.

The Delhi government's standing counsel (Civil), Santosh Kumar Tripathi, and lawyer Arun Panwar told the court that a number of authorities are involved in taking care of the problem of waterlogging, including the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the Delhi Metro, the Delhi Police and the city health department.

The other authorities involved are the Department of Food and Supplies, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), the BSES, the Irrigation Department, the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).

The court was informed by Tripathi that an integrated drainage management cell, headed by the chief secretary, has been set up by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The court asked the chief secretary to convene a meeting of the integrated drain management cell before the next date of the hearing.

The Delhi government's lawyer said many DJB projects are pending for want of money, which is not being paid by the finance department, while the situation is very serious and water is overflowing from sewage.

The council said though funds have been sanctioned, they have not been released to the DJB and every day, the situation is getting worse as the shortage of money is causing impediments in the cleaning work.

On January 10, the court remarked that the drainage system in the national capital is "absolutely pathetic" and in a "very bad state of affairs", and asked the authorities to wake up and act against the problem of waterlogging.

The court had also said the agencies cannot be tamed by anyone, adding that the reform has to come from within the authorities and courts cannot do everything.

The bench had said if this was the callousness of the authorities in the New Delhi area, one could not imagine the situation in the other parts of the city.

It further said there was no common verified plan for the drainage system and added that every year during monsoon, Delhiites get to see the "famous" photograph of the Minto Bridge in Central Delhi submerged in water with a bus stuck under it.

The Centre, the Delhi government, the DDA, the MCD, the Delhi Police, the PWD, the DJB, the Delhi Cantonment Board, the NDMC and the flood irrigation department are parties to the petitions.