The rain gave Delhi a break on Monday, but politics over water-logging didn’t miss a beat with a municipal leader asking the government to hand over its drains as it was “unable to clean” them.
The chairperson of the BJP-led North Delhi Municipal Corporation’s Standing Committee, Mohan Bhardwaj, asked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to give the civic body the job of de-silting drains that are currently maintained by the Delhi government’s Public Works Department.
“The government should hand over the drains to us, along with the required funds, as they lack staff, equipment and experience to clean them properly. Their lack of preparedness has been proved with the amount of water-logging seen in the past few days,” said Mr. Bhardwaj.
Until 1998, the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi managed all drains and sewers in the Capital. But, now the three municipalities are responsible for drains less than four feet in width, with the larger ones under the PWD, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department and the Delhi Jal Board.
Municipal leaders have claimed that water-logging seen over the weekend was due to obstructions in PWD drains. While inspecting the situation on Saturday, Mr. Bhardwaj said PWD drains in Rohini and Mundka village were full of debris and silt. “There is sewage backflow in the ground floor houses of Mundka and Tikri villages. This could lead to serious health concerns,” he said.
