Delhi’s drainage, desilting and flood control a big fraud: CAG

NEW DELHI: Stuck on a waterlogged road, many of you would blame the monsoon for your misery. This report should dispel that notion. In its audit of Delhi's drainage, desilting and flood control measures, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has unearthed systematic fraud and neglect, showing how taxpayers' money is virtually going down the drain.

The report, which could be tabled in Parliament soon, reveals a series of scams involving several city agencies.

Consider this. During 2010-13, the flood control department removed 8,30,000 cubic metres of silt from the Najafgarh and Trunk one drains. However, only about 1,00,000 cubic metres of it was moved away. When asked why the rest was dumped right next to the drains, the department said its banks were large enough and the silt wouldn't go back in.

The report says under the Delhi master plan of 2001, authorities were supposed to also prepare a master plan for drainage. A committee was setup for this purpose in 2005, but it did nothing until 2012. That's when the work was handed over to IIT Delhi. However, government agencies have till date not handed over any data to IIT Delhi, and thus the work is stuck.

Simultaneously, the Delhi Jal Board was to prepare a master plan for sewerage. No such work is available even today. That's not all. Delhi's flood control department has not conducted any topographical survey of Yamuna since 2005, citing staff shortage. Without this data, dimensions for storm water drains and other key components cannot be planned.

The audit also reveals a consistent pattern of agencies resorting to lies. For instance, PWD on June 15, 2013 claimed that desilting of all its drains was complete, and no silt was left behind. However, on September 10, 2013, the department admitted in an internal status report that it had removed silt completely only from 80km of road, and partially from 158km. For another 40km of its roads, the department had no knowledge if desilting had taken place at all.

Test audit of key waterlogging points showed a bizarre pattern. Even on days when rainfall was moderate and the water level of Yamuna remained well below the danger level, waterlogging was reported at various locations, the audit said. This belied the usual excuses of departments about heavy rains and high water level of Yamuna being key reasons for flooding of roads.

This also points to the fact that the Delhi's storm drains are faulty. It turns out that these drains are designed to cater to a maximum of only 25mm rain in an hour whereas experts have suggested that the city should storm drains that can cater to 62.5mm rain during a 30-minute duration.



The audit points to several instances of shocking delay. In August 2009, after residences of high court judges along Purana Qila road were flooded, NDMC engaged IIT Delhi to study the problem. IIT suggested remodelling of drain number 14. MCD gave the contract only by March 2013. After five years of the disaster, just 10% work is complete.

A final draft of the CAG report on 'Flood control and drainage system in Delhi' was sent to the Delhi government recently. Sources said the audit was ordered by CAG S K Sharma during the last monsoon, in the wake of widespread reports of hours-long traffic jams and waterlogging.

The report is also a narrative of the larger urban decay of Delhi. Dumping of waste in drains and Yamuna are rampant. The audit said this is also a crucial reason contributing to our misery every monsoon. more