NEW DELHI: Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday reviewed Delhi’s monsoon preparedness at a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), stressing accountability, inter-agency coordination and faster implementation of flood mitigation measures.
The meeting assessed preparedness for heavy rainfall, progress under the Urban Flood Mitigation Plan and the establishment of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). The L-G said that despite significant improvements over the past two years, departments must ensure minimum or no waterlogging during the remaining monsoon season, warning that responsibility for lapses would be fixed.
Officials informed the meeting that waterlogging-prone locations had declined from 194 in 2024 to 169 in 2025, and further to 34 so far in 2026. Repeat waterlogging sites also fell sharply from 53 between 2024 and 2025 to eight between 2025 and 2026.
The DDMA was also informed that the MCD, Irrigation and Flood Control Department (I&FCD), NDMC and DDA had completed desilting targets. The PWD achieved around 95 per cent desilting, with further work affected by encroachments, while the Delhi Jal Board completed 85.5 per cent desilting of trunk sewer lines, 91.1 per cent of peripheral sewer lines and 90.16 per cent of branch sewer lines.
The CM directed departments to ensure that removed silt is disposed of immediately and that uncovered drains, sewer lines, manholes, potholes and ditches are addressed without delay, stressing zero tolerance towards accidents. The meeting also reviewed the preventive removal of dangerous trees vulnerable to storms. Gupta directed officials to remove hazardous trees.
The L-G directed that the SDRF be made operational at the earliest and called for seamless coordination among civic agencies during emergencies. He also instructed departments to monitor public feedback, respond to waterlogging complaints in real time and keep mobile heavy-duty pumps ready throughout the monsoon.
