‘Natural gradient between Aravallis, Najafgarh drain behind Gurugram flooding’: Centre in LS

The Centre informed the Lok Sabha today that the Haryana Government has attributed instances of waterlogging in Gurugram during heavy rain to its “unique topography”.

In response to a starred question from Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda on civic woes of Gurugram, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar submitted that while urban planning is the function of urban local bodies (ULBs) or urban development authorities, the Centre supplements the efforts of the states through financial and technical support.

He pointed out that according to the Haryana Government, Gurugram has a unique topography featuring the Aravalli hills to the east and the Najafgarh drain to the northwest. “The elevation difference of about 78m between the Najafgarh drain and the Aravalli hills has created a natural gradient for water flow, which was historically controlled through a series of bunds constructed in the late 19th century, such as Chakarpur, Jharsa, Wazirabad, and Ghata bunds. However, rapid urbanisation has rendered many of the bunds obsolete and reduced pond networks, impacting the traditional drainage system,” he added.

On mitigation measures, he further said that around 90 critical waterlogging points were identified in 2019, which have been reduced to 30 in 2024, by taking various measures such as “connecting stormwater to drains, improved connectivity of drains for outfall disposal, de-silting of drains, augmentation and reconstruction of drains, construction of check dams, construction of water channels to get road water into creeks and rejuvenation of natural creeks, etc.”

Further steps included the construction of master stormwater drains at Narsinghpur (NH-48), Khandsa Chowk (Hero Honda Chowk to Sector-10 Depot), Tau Devi Lal Stadium (Sector 38) and Sector 17/18 etc to improve stormwater management.

Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and the Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG) have also carried out desilting of 544 km of drains, deployment of 141 heavy-duty pumps and 77 suction tankers.

Khattar added, “For the preparation of a comprehensive drainage plan of Gurugram city, a consultant has been engaged for the study and identification of the problematic area, bottlenecks in the existing drainage system and solutions.”