Govt completes over 90% drain desilting work across city

The Delhi Government has completed more than 90 per cent of drain-desilting work across the city to reduce waterlogging problems during monsoon. The Public Works Department (PWD), which is the biggest drain-owning agency in the national capital, has cleared more than 90 per cent of its drain-desilting work across its three main zones.

According to official figures, till July 2, 539.34 km in PWD’s East Zone, 603 km in the South Zone and 812 km in the North Zone, i.e., around 1955 km of drains of the total 2123 km drainage network has been desilted.  

The PWD is responsible for the management of 2123 km of drainage network across the city, which is around 50 per cent of the total drainage network of the city.

“Our priority is to clean the drainage network and make it functional to ensure that even during heavy rainfall, water does not accumulate and disrupt movement. For this, we have strengthened the manpower and the desilting work is ongoing at the desired pace, with overall more than 90 per cent of the work completed,” Flood Control Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said.

The Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department has also completed 93 per cent of the desilting work across 77 drains, with more than 31 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of silt already removed. The department currently manages 382 kilometres of drain length, including the Najafgarh drain, Barapullah drain and Delhi Gate drain. “Officials have also been directed to ensure proper disposal of the silt and prevent it from flowing back into the drains,” Singh added.

The Delhi government had identified 169 locations across the city that are prone to waterlogging. Officials said that a total of 445 waterlogging hotspots have been mapped based on the traffic police data from 2023, 2024 and 2025 and are currently under close monitoring.

Of these, 31 spots are located along the Ring Road only, according to the Delhi government’s flood control order published recently. To manage any problems in these spots and others areas, the PWD and the I&FC have made arrangements for temporary pumps, quick response teams and automatic pumping stations.       

“Till June 25, the MCD removed 1.7 lakh MT of silt from its 793 major stormwater drains measuring four feet and above, achieving 125.88 per cent of its phase 1 target of 1.4 lakh MT,” an MCD official said.  The MCD also exceeded its target for smaller drains. It desilted 29,686.83 MT of silt from 12,892 drains, against the Phase-I target of 25,850.5 MT, achieving 114.84 per cent of the target.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has successfully achieved 100 per cent desilting of bell-mouths and gully traps (GT) across its jurisdiction during the second round of its cleanliness drive, NDMC Vice Chairman Kuljeet Singh Chahal said.

“As of July 1, 2026, all 7,888 identified bell-mouths and 4,833 gully traps were thoroughly inspected and cleaned, leaving zero backlog ahead of the monsoon spells. Additionally, the civic body has recorded a 99.12 per cent completion rate for its rainwater harvesting systems, having serviced 337 out of 340 total units,” Chahal said. 

Highlighting the scale of the pre-monsoon preparedness carried out between January and June 2026, Chahal said that a total of 885 cubic meters of silt was extracted from bell-mouths, gully traps, and manholes to ensure smooth drainage and prevent waterlogging in the New Delhi area.

For timely updates and monitoring, the government has also set up 16 flood control posts, including nine along the Yamuna River, four on Najafgarh drain, two along the supplementary drain and one near Jahangirpuri drain. The department has also constructed eight embankments along the Yamuna. The Flood Control Department has also made provisions for assistance of the Army in controlling flooding and other related activities.