Delhi: Civic bodies submit report of clean-up work on key drains

The work of cleaning and desilting four key stormwater drains in the city is progressing albeit with some challenges, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department have stated in their respective affidavits in the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Both the agencies have also given a detailed roadmap to clean the drains located in south, central and east parts of Delhi. The affidavits, filed on September 2 and 3, come days after the green court raised the inadequate desilting and dredging of the Barapullah drain — the third most polluting drain flowing into the Yamuna.
While MCD is responsible for Defence Colony drain, Kushak drain, Sunehripul drain — all supplementary drains of the 16km-long Barapullah drain passing through several south Delhi neighbourhoods, the I&FC department has been tasked to clean up Shahdara drain.

Sunehripul drain
Desilting work is progressing well along the 1.4km Sunehripul drain, which flows underneath Lala Lajpat Rai Marg, MCD said, adding that it is likely to be completed in the next 15 days. “At present, 80% of the work is complete,” its affidavit reads, adding that the work was done in five phases, costing a total of ₹74.4 lakhs.
The work carried out includes fixing damaged walls near Amar Colony, the report said. “Further, silt taken out from the drain has already been removed,” it added.
ALSO READ- Delhi govt seeks suggestions from all parties on winter pollution plan
Kushak drain
For Kushak drain, the largest of the three supplementary drains of the Barapullah drain, which has a length of nearly 6.5km, MCD said de-silting work till Lala Lajpat Rai Marg is likely to take another two months, with agencies hitting multiple roadblocks on the way. This includes blockages along the drain and difficulty in taking heavy machinery to the portion of drain near INA Market.
“The desilting of stretch of Kushak drain near INA Market is very difficult due to fact that there is no access for machinery to enter below the Barapulla elevated road. Tender has been called for making access from road side so that machinery can enter into the drain,” MCD said.
Underneath Lala Lajpat Rai Marg, two out of the 11 bays through which the drain flows, were also found to be blocked. “Two other bays are fully closed due to construction of slip roads of Barapullah elevated road by PWD. These two bays are likely to be opened by end of October 2024..” it said.
On Tuesday, lieutenant governor VK Saxena also visited the INA section of the drain, directing MCD to expedite desilting in the area. On the same day, over a thousand tonne of waste was lifted, officials part of the inspection said.
“Three heavy machines were called in to action and MCD officials estimated that the drain contains over 50,000 tonne of waste. Despite the significant challenge, over a thousand tonnes of debris were removed on the first day alone and will continue till the drain is totally cleaned,” said an official, who was with the LG during the inspection of the drain.
The clogged section can cause backflow and waterlogging in the area around INA Market, Sewa Nagar, Sadiq Nagar, Ansari Nagar, South Extension-1 and AIIMS crossing on Ring Road among others, the official added.
ALSO READ- Delhi HC raps NCRTC for seeking tree felling nod for RRTS project
Defence Colony drain
Meanwhile, desilting of the 1.6km Defence Colony drain has become a challenge for MCD, as 1.3km of it is fully covered, according to the agency.
“Since, sufficient openings are not available, a proposal has been prepared for desilting of covered drain by creating nine of openings on top of the drain at intervals of 150 metres and four additional ramps in the side walls. By making this provision of openings, the gases would get released and it would make desiiting easier for men and machinery to enter into this drain to carry out the work,” said MCD, adding that the work will be carried out an approximate cost of ₹2.89 crore.
The drain was transferred to the corporation by the Delhi Development Authority in 2020.
Meanwhile, MCD’s short-term plan to clean the drain includes deployment of super-sucker machines, and the work is scheduled to be completed by November 15, it said. The corporation added it was exploring the possibility of a robotic machine for clean-up.
ALSO READ- DU’s ‘single girl child’ quota violates right to equality: St. Stephen’s in Delhi HC
Shahdara drain
The Shahdara drain is the second most polluting drain flowing into the Yamuna after the Najafgarh drain. It is also longer than all the three aforementioned drains, with a length of around 25km in Delhi, and another 7km of it flowing through Uttar Pradesh.
The I&FC department in its September 2 affidavit said desilting work has been completed already, with the department now in process of removing it from the banks of the drain. So far, 2.30 lakh metric tonne of silt has been removed, it said.
The department said though the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is in process of trapping sewage on the Delhi side, it was still entering the drain through Indrapuri and Banthala drains in UP.
Hindrances identified include encroachment along the drain in a 400-metre stretch between Babarpur Bridge and Jafrabad bridge in east Delhi. “A dhobi ghat also exists on the left bank upstream of G.T road bridge, for which a request has been made to the special task force for removal of encroachment. So far, no action has been taken,” the affidavit says.