NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has strengthened weak embankments, started desilting 77 major drains and ordered fresh scientific studies of the Yamuna floodplain to prevent a repeat of 2023 floods, according to a progress report filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The report was submitted by the irrigation and flood control department after NGT took note of media reports questioning why the scale of 2023 floods could not be predicted in time.
According to the report, after the floods, a Joint Flood Management Committee (JFMC) was set up under the chairmanship of the Central Water Commission (CWC) to review flood management between Hathnikund and Okhla barrages.
The committee studied rainfall, water discharge and flood patterns. It found that rainfall over five days in July 2023 was 23.8 per cent higher than in 1978. The committee also looked at how much water different stretches of the Yamuna can carry. It said the river’s capacity changes along its course and that better data is needed in some areas to improve flood prediction.
On embankments, the report stated that short-term safety measures have been taken in vulnerable areas such as Nili Chhatri. Retaining walls have also been built in some places. A scientific study of the Yamuna River and its floodplain is underway, and a final floodplain map with one-metre contour details is expected by August 2026.