Officials will face action over waterlogging: Kejriwal warns

If Delhiites suffer due to waterlogging during monsoon season, officers concerned will face action, Delhi government warned today, as it came out with a detailed plan to tackle rain-related woes that plague the city every year.

In a note to Chief Secretary M M Kutty, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said there have been allegations that the desilting of drains is done "only on paper" in some areas and the payments are made on the basis of "fake bills", which must stop.

The government directed PWD secretary and municipal corporations to identify vulnerable points for waterlogging across the city by June 7 and fix them so that people don't face such problem.
 

Addressing a press conference here, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said during the rainy season, the chief minister will take stock of the ground situation by personally inspecting sites.

People will also be encouraged to send pictures of places having waterlogging through whatsapp and social media websites.

"The Chief Minister has prepared a plan to deal with the problem of waterlogging under which the responsibility of officer concerned will be fixed. If people face such problems on Public Works Department's roads, PWD secretary's responsibility will be fixed," Sisodia told reporters here.

He said that, similarly, MCD officials will also face action if there are incidents of waterlogging under their jurisdiction.

Earlier this month, Lt Governor Anil Baijal had constituted a high-level committee headed by PWD Secretary Ashwani Kumar to look after desilting of drains and open manholes.

It is aimed at better coordination between multiple agenices to tackle the waterlogging problem.

The LG-appointed committee has prepared a plan to desilt by June 15 all 163 major drains in the city, which cause massive waterlogging every monsoon.

The committee has asked all agencies concerned to come up with their detailed plans on removal of silt from drains and roads by June 15, and also report how many drains have been desilted so far, an official said.

The PWD is in charge of 1,260 km of roads in the capital while the rest fall under the jurisdiction of the three MCDs.

Last year, the Delhi government had banned road-cutting activities during monsoon, but due to poor monitoring, the restriction could not be implemented.