Irrigation dept tells NGT: Will oversee all of Delhi’s key drains

The Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it has taken over all 22 major drains that end up in the Yamuna, making it the sole agency which is now responsible for maintenance and clean-up of drains in the Capital.

In its submission dated December 18, the department, part of the Delhi government, said the decision to hand-over all drains was taken in a meeting held in April this year under the Integrated Drain Management Cell, following directions from the Delhi high court the same month.

“During the 17th meeting of Integrated Drain Management Cell (IDMC) held under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary, Delhi on April 18, it was decided, after detailed discussion with all the stakeholders, that responsibility of all 22 open drains, which are out falling in river Yamuna, should be handed over to Irrigation & Flood Control (I&FC) Department as a single agency,” said the submission, adding that it was also decided to allow drain-owning agencies to continue with de-silting and dredging in their jurisdiction for at least the monsoon season.

NGT has been hearing a case filed by a Delhi resident since January, where it has been alleged that a number of city drains are carrying a huge load of garbage, thus polluting the Yamuna. Subsequently, the tribunal had sought details of all drain-owning agencies, including I&FC.

Delhi, for many years, has suffered from a multiplicity of agencies looking after its drains, with around 10 bodies earlier responsible for its 3740.31km of stormwater drains. Though these drains are not only meant to carry stormwater, a majority of these drains have been reduced to sewerage lines that directly reach the Yamuna – making them a source of pollution in the river. The Delhi high court in its order dated April 8 this year had observed that a single agency to manage Delhi’s drains could also help expedite the process of connecting them to sewage treatment plants (STPs).

I&FC said the handover of all drains took earlier this month, with the department to now carry out periodic de-silting and dredging in each drain in the coming weeks.

Delhi’s 22 major drains carrying sewage to the Yamuna include the Najafgarh drain, Shahdara drain and the Barapullah drain. While the first two were already under I&FC’s jursidiction, the Barapullah drain was handed over by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on December 9.

According to a 2020 environment department assessment, these three drains alone account for over 80% of the Yamuna’s entire pollution load in the Capital. Around 68.7% comes from the Najafgarh drain, followed by 10.9% from the Shahdara drain and another 3.15% from Barapullah drain, the assessment had found.

Other major drains handed over by MCD include the Civil Military drain, Moat drain (Vijay ghat) and Sen Nursing Home drain, Metcalf House drain, Tonga Stand drain, Khyber Pass drain, Tehkhand drain, Taimoor Nagar drain and ISBT drain.

Bhim Singh Rawat, a Yamuna activist and member of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) said while the move should help bring more transparency and accountability, the I&FC’s own track record for its drains is not too encouraging so far.

“Even with the drains it had under its jurisdiction, it could have easily taken action, be it against encroachments or sewage entering it. While having a single agency helps fix accountability, it is important to ensure targets are set and timelines to clean these stormwater drains are fixed,” he said.