Delhi PWD's drainage master plan to take into account climate change aspect, say sources

New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) The drainage master plan of the Delhi government is taking into account an 11 per cent rainfall in the future as a major climate change focus point in its draft plan to be launched by the government soon, official sources said on Friday.

Designed to meet the city's drainage requirements over the next 30 years, the draft plan aims to address both present challenges and future demands in the face of rapid urban growth and recurring waterlogging problems.

"The current drainage system can handle rainfall up to 50 mm of rainwater in a day; now we plan to double this capacity. Since the last Drainage Master Plan prepared in 1976, there has been rapid urbanisation, the built-up area has been increased, due to which the runoff coefficient contributes to the discharge in drains, which causes the ovrflow in the existing drainage system," the sources added.

To implement the drainage master plan for the entire city, the government also plans to formulate an inter-departmental committee having officers from all the departments concerned, it added. The national capital has approximately a total of 3740.31 kilometres of drainage network under the jurisdiction of eight different civic agencies and departments.

"Nature-based and green infrastructure solutions have been majorly focused on, like the rejuvenation of existing lakes, green parks, wetlands, and rainwater harvesting systems, promoting biodiversity and groundwater recharge in the drainage master plan," the sources added.

The last comprehensive drainage master plan for Delhi was prepared in 1976, when the city's population was just 60 lakh.

The PWD has divided the city into three basins -- ”Najafgarh Basin, Barapullah Basin, and Trans-Yamuna Basin' -- and hired consultants to redesign the drainage network. PTI SSM MNK MNK