Lessons from Delhi floods for all cities

Cities get parched and yearn for water during summers. Paradoxically, the same cities face flooding of the roads and drains during even moderately heavy rains. However, the impact of torrential rains in the initial weeks of July this year presented the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) with such challenges that were unprecedented by any yardstick

The Yamuna water level crossed the 208 metres mark on July 12, way higher than the Danger Mark of 205.33 metres, and smashing the all-time record of 207.49 metres set 45 years ago, in 1978. Pursuantly, several key areas in Delhi, including the Secretariat which houses the offices of the Chief Minister, other Ministers and senior bureaucrats, were flooded. Videos of waterlogged streets in the NCT showed areas like Supreme Court, Rajghat, ITO Road, Red Fort, among others, being impacted were displayed on the national and local media, causing widespread concerns. For a change, the affluent sections were also impacted, though the weak suffered extensively.

The curious situation of Delhi during this episode was that though it got flooded during the torrential rains that lasted for about a week, but the flooding of the city continued for over a week even after the rains had subsided. Post cessation of the heavy rains, the major inflow of water into the NCT was from the River Yamuna. Though the Government of the NCT blamed Haryana for not diverting Yamuna water into the minor barrages and canals on the upstream, that argument did not get much support as the basic issue was inadequate drainage system for NCT as a whole. A closer analysis of the Delhi Floods provides a set of lessons that need to be pursued soon, to prevent the recurrence of a similar predicament in the times to come not only for Delhi, but for other cities as well.

Regional Framework for Drainage

The first lesson from Delhi is that the planning for the drainage system for a city has been developed in the regional framework, with the watershed of the basin containing the city defining the boundaries for planning. This is essential, because a city receives water not only from the rains falling over it, but also from various streams in the upper reaches of the watershed region. Therefore, if the upper regions outside the city get rains, the city would normally be obliged to receive the extra flow, subject to the availability of reservoirs and percolation en route. On the other hand, the water being discharged from a city has to follow the gradient and dimensions of the nallahs and other water bodies outside the city boundaries. Therefore, the surplus of the rain water falling in the city can flow out of the city only if the nallahs and reservoirs outside the city are capable of receiving it. If the drains and the waterbodies of the basin region outside the city are choked, then the city will remain flooded.

This explains a part of Delhi’s flooding and would call for preparation of Regional Plans for sustainable management of the drainage system for a city. The Comprehensive Regional Plans would have multiple layers, of which the first and foremost would be the Drainage Plan, followed by Habitation Plan, Business Development Plan, Mobility Plan, etc. Drainage Planning should be based on watershed approach and should incorporate the objective of optimal harnessing of the water coming from various sources including rain as well as recycled water coming from industries, businesses, and households, after providing for subsoil percolation. The Regional Drainage Plan should identify the major water bodies such as lakes, ponds, rivers, and nallahs and map these in a logical framework, identifying their respective holding/carrying capacities. Satellite imagery, mapped in conjunction with the statutory cadastral revenue and forest maps, supported by ground truthing, would facilitate in this exercise.

The Regional Drainage Plan should determine the extent to which water could be made available for the development activities including for the human consumption, agriculture, industry, businesses, etc. It should also determine the extent of used water that becomes available for recycling and the net disposable water that needs to flow out of the respective habitats (cities, villages etc) and finally leave the region. In doing so, the Regional Drainage Plan should also incorporate a sensitivity analysis, to provide for handling the vagaries of climate change ranging from drought to torrential rains.

The Regional Drainage Plans need to be notified under appropriate legislation as the overriding Plan for the local areas of the cities and villages coming in the region and for regulation of the development activities. In states where legislation for regional planning is not in existence, it could be introduced either by way of amendments to the State Town & Country Planning Act or through an exclusive law such as the National Capital Region Planning Board Act, 1985, which covers the areas of the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, besides the NCT of Delhi.

Local Area Plans

The Planning Regions would need to define the Local Areas of Development, such as the villages, towns and the cities, as also specialised hubs such as the Industrial Areas/Townships, Military Zones, Wildlife Sanctuaries etc. For each Local Area, a Local Planning Authority would have to be notified under appropriate legislation, such as the State Town & Country Planning Act. Each such Authority would need to prepare the Plan for its Area, which would have the same layers as for the Regional Plan, commencing with the Drainage Plan and followed by other sector plans.

The Drainage Plan for each city and other Local Areas should delineate more elaborate details for the water bodies, including the rivers, nallahs, lakes, ponds, including the minor ones and superimpose the spread of such bodies on the revenue survey maps and in the land records accounting for survey numbers. The status and spread of such water bodies should also be notified under the relevant State Laws such as the Land Revenue Act, Town & Country Planning Act, Municipal and Panchayat Acts, Irrigation Act, Forest Act etc. Each such notification should also make a reference to the notifications issued under the other laws, to ensure harmony of the notifications issued for each water body under different laws.
The Local Area Plans should also identify and delineate the existing habitations and other developments that have already come up in the spread of the water bodies and declare these as undesirable developments. Such developments normally include the informal settlements such as the slums, though some of these could fall under the definition of‘regularisation of unauthorised developments or even development by government authorities as well.

Development Control Regulations

The development of habitats, including the construction and the economic activities, is regulated under various laws such as the Development Authorities Act, the Industrial Areas Development Act, the Cantonment Act, etc., besides the laws mentioned before. The regulatory authorities under such laws should also make statutory notifications prohibiting the development activities within such areas and regulating it suitably in the vicinity of such areas, on the lines of the development control regulations that have already been applied for the coastal regions. In particular, the Development Controlling Authorities should freeze the status of the developments that already exist in the prohibited areas and work on preparation of a time bound action plan for reclamation of the lands that host the developments in such areas, with a view to preparation of an effective drainage plan.

Relocation of Informal Settlements

In a large number of instances, the unauthorised informal settlements such as the slums have come up on the embankments of water bodies like the rivers and the lakes. In many cases, the occupants of the slums are the weaker sections of the society including migrants from other places and the housing developed by them, usually unauthorizedly, is environmentally unsustainable. The general refrain of the governments is to support in situ improved housing or to develop relocation housing projects in close vicinity. In either case, there hardly are many instances where the settlements in the prohibited areas could be finally cleared, and the final results are only proliferation of the slums and continuation of the flooding hazards.

There are, however, a few notable successful instances of relocation of the slums from the embankments of a water body. One such example is the relocation of a slum of around 5000 families from the embankments of River Sabarmati in Ahmadabad. The relocation was achieved through the adoption of the Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) and other components of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM), besides the schemes and programmes of different agencies. This resettlement was achieved during 2008-2012 and was fairly successful, even though it did offer lessons for better handling for future cases. Over the years, many more programmes for urban development have come up, including the expanded framework of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY), which provide the opportunity for a more effective and comprehensive relocation of the informal settlements.

Rainwater Harvesting

Cities and the regions should also focus on rainwater harvesting, which needs to be given the status of ‘a way of life’. In fact, as the regional and the local area plans strengthen the water bodies and protect their embankments, the objective of rainwater harvesting gets achieved automatically and concomitantly, to a good extent. In addition, suitable designing of the buildings, pavements, footpaths, and the storm water drainage channels would further augment the extent of percolation. The Building Byelaws of the Municipal Bodies should also ensure an in-built provision for the rainwater harvesting. Periodic verification and rectification of the continued effectiveness of the rainwater harvesting structures is also necessary

Financing the Implementation of the Drainage Plans

The Drainage Plans have two broad components: one for restoring the water bodies and their embankments and the other, for preventing future damages.

The second part would require negligible cost, as it would be achieved though preparation of drainage plans and enforcement through regulations, requiring the violators to pay for the cost of enforcement by way of imposition of fines.

The task of restoration would, however, have significant financial implications. Part of such expenditure could be secured through resources from the programmes like PMAY, Swachh Bharat Mission, National Urban Livelihood Mission, National Health Mission, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, Solar Mission etc.

It should also be appreciated that violation of Drainage Plans leads to flooding of the cities, which in turn, leads to damages to the road surfaces and other infrastructure, besides to the life and properties of the citizens, which all lead to heavy costs for the government as well as for the citizens. Therefore, in all fairness, the Drainage Plans should be financed by the Government from its budgetary resources, while some part of the cost could be recovered by way of imposition of a fee on the development charges on the construction projects/works.

Creating Awareness Among the People

The entire concept of drainage planning, the benefits of its proper implementation, and the fallout of violating it, needs to be brought home to the people effectively. While drainage planning is mentioned in the text books for geography, but it needs to be made more informative and interesting for children. Success stories of good drainage planning in different cities across the world should be shared with the people through mass media and social media.

The Drainage Plan, ahead of final notification, should be published in Draft Form, to invite suggestions and comments through wide publicity. Analysis of the response received on the Draft Drainage Plans would help in better fine-tuning of the plans, and in turn, to lesser disputes and higher acceptability among all segments of the society.

In conclusion

A good drainage plan for a city, if adequately designed and implemented, would not only enhance the land values all around significantly, but would also improve the quality of living for the rich and the poor alike. This would lead to providing healthier life and environment to the citizens, besides higher revenues for the government including for the municipalities and the panchayats.

While we have already seen numerous instances of the damages caused by not putting in place a good drainage plan for the cities and the regions, the good news is that it is not only highly desirable, but is also eminently doable and a win-all situation.

A good drainage plan for a city, if adequately designed and implemented, would not only enhance the land values all around significantly, but would also improve the quality of living for the rich and the poor alike