MCD’s desilting targets ahead of monsoon

Ahead of the monsoon season, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has prepared an action plan, targeting to clean 800 drains measuring 531 kilometres’ length coming under its jurisdiction.The MCD has targeted to remove nearly 2.14 lakh metric tonnes of silt from all 12 zones.

According to MCD’s action plan, in South zone, the MCD has aimed to clean 71 drains with a total length of 45.95 kilometres, 65 drains with a total length of 50.70 kilometres in Central zone, 133 drains with a total length of 83.44 kilometres in West zone, 120 drains with a total length of 107.58 kilometres in Najafgarh zone, 115 drains with a total length of 65.22 kilometres in Shahdara North zone and 108 drains with a total length of 60.53 kilometres in Shahdara South zone.

Similarly, it will remove silt from 10 drains with a total length of 5.21 kilometres in City SP zone, 32 drains with a total length of 23.39 kilometres in Karol Bagh zone, 16 drains with a total length of 6.94 kilometres kilometers in Civil Lines zone, 39 drains with a total length of 24.01 kilometres in Keshavpuram zone, 50 drains with a total length of 28.97 kilometres in Rohini zone and 41 drains with a total length of 28.79 kilometres in Narela zone. The Corporation has aimed to spend a total of Rs 36 crore for desilting works.

MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar chaired a comprehensive briefing and interactive session on Monsoon Preparedness on Thursday at the Kedar Nath Sahni Auditorium, Civic Centre. The session was attended by all Additional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners of all zones, Engineers-in-Chief, Assistant Commissioners of zones, and engineers from the Maintenance, Building, Projects, and EMS departments, along with Sanitation Superintendents and other senior officials of the MCD. The meeting focused on the preparedness of the MCD for the upcoming monsoon season, with special emphasis on addressing issues related to water logging, sanitation, and public safety.

All Deputy Commissioners, Engineers-in-Chief, and Additional Commissioners shared detailed action plans to address water logging across the city. They also offered valuable suggestions aimed at strengthening infrastructure, enhancing resource availability, and augmenting manpower to ensure an effective and timely monsoon response. During the interactive segment, Sanitation Superintendents, Assistant Commissioners, Executive Engineers, Superintendent Engineers, Chief Engineers, and other senior officials shared their on-ground experiences, suggestions, key challenges, and operational bottlenecks related to the desilting of drains, persistent water logging issues, and inter-departmental coordination. The session witnessed active participation from SI, ASI, and employees from DEMS and the Engineering Department.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had, on March 17, said that the government is working with full seriousness to ensure residents do not face waterlogging during the monsoon. The CM had made the statement after carrying out an inspection of six major drains in the city along with LG V K Saxena and PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh.