Delhi: NDMC to undertake restoration of decades-old sewer lines next year

NDMC officials said that the work will only be taken up on coordination with traffic police to minimise snarls

After multiple cases where roads in Lutyens Delhi caved in due to damage to the British-era sewer lines running underneath, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has proposed an ambitious ₹556 crore project to restore the drainage system, officials aware of the matter said.

NDMC maintains around 350km of sewer lines, which is spread over an area of 42.7 sq km of the New Delhi area. (HT Archive)

Traffic movement is likely to be affected in New Delhi when the work begins. NDMC officials said that the work will only be taken up on coordination with traffic police to minimise snarls, and trenchless technology will be used to reduce the impact on vehicular movement.

NDMC maintains around 350km of sewer lines, which is spread over an area of 42.7 sq km of the New Delhi area — much of which was built between 1920 and 1930. Though only around 250,000 people live here, around 1.75 million people travel to this part of the Capital every day for work.

“The council has prepared a comprehensive plan to replace and upgrade the pre-Independence infrastructure, and over the next few years, the rehabilitation work will be taken up at large scale so that the underlying infrastructure in New Delhi can meet the increased demand,” NDMC vice chairperson Kuljeet Chahal said.

Officials said that NDMC plans to fund the project — likely to last five years — by using the urban development fund of the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), and that work is likely to start in 2025.

“The matter has been taken up with the ministry, and under the project, 17 lines will be covered. The proposal was presented to the project sanctioning committee on July 19. The proposal for hydraulic analysis and the detailed plan have already been processed, and the project is likely to be started in the next financial year,” the official said.

NDMC officials said that over the decades, corrosive gases from these sewage lines have damaged the outer layers of the sewer pipes. “This leads to collapse or settlement every year during the monsoon season,” an NDMC official aware of the proposal said.

“The sewage lines are varying sizes ranging from a diameter of 350mm to 2,100mm, but most of the lines are more than 70 years old. These old lines need augmentation and replacement,” the official said.

Officials said the repair works are at varying stages of planning and execution. “The work on the brick barrel line from Kushak Nallah to Aurobindo Marg at Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh Marg has been awarded and it is likely to start by March. Similarly, the pre-consultancy work for desilting and rehabilitation of twin barrel line from C-Hexagon to Lodhi Road through Zakir Hussian Marg-Golf Course-Subramanium Bharti Marg has been completed and the work is likely to start in next financial year,” the official said.

“Similarly, tenders have been invited for the rehabilitation of the sewer from Telegraph Lane to Kasturba Gandhi Marg via Madhavrao Scindia Marg,” the official said.

Gopal Krishna, who heads the New Delhi RWA federation, and has been a resident of the area since 1974, said that a lack of timely repairs and upgradation of the infrastructure has led to the deterioration of services.

“Most of the infrastructure in New Delhi was built before Independence, but it has not been upgraded in a timely phased manner. The civic agencies wake up only after a section is damaged. Instead of treating isolated sites, a comprehensive plan is needed for increasing the capacity of the basic infrastructure as the population has gone up several times,” he said.