Latest news with #IrrigationandFloodControlDepartment
Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Engineer, contractor held for ₹4.6 crore fraud in Delhi irrigation department
New Delhi, The Delhi government's anti-corruption branch has arrested a suspended an executive engineer and a private contractor for committing over ₹ 4.6 crore fraud in the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, an official said on Monday. Engineer, contractor held for ₹ 4.6 crore fraud in Delhi irrigation department The two accused allegedly facilitated fraudulent payments worth over ₹ 4.6 crore for civil works that were never executed. The irregularities relate to drainage and road projects in Siraspur village, north Delhi, which were found to exist only on paper. 'The arrested individuals include an executive engineer of the I&FC Department who was under suspension, and a private contractor. Their arrest follows a detailed probe into the embezzlement of public funds through fictitious projects and procedural violations,' the officer said. The case came to light during an internal inquiry that flagged large-scale irregularities in payment disbursals made to certain contractors without physical verification of works. Acting on the findings, the ACB launched a full-fledged investigation. The initial scrutiny revealed that public funds amounting to over ₹ 4.6 crore were released for the construction of reinforced cement concrete drains and roads in Siraspur village. However, on-ground inspection and technical verification found no trace of the proposed civil works. Further investigation uncovered that fake performance bank guarantees amounting to ₹ 2.24 crore were submitted by the contractor and were accepted by the department without due diligence. 'The acceptance of forged performance guarantees is a grave violation of procurement norms. It is a clear indication of collusion and gross negligence on part of the officials involved,' the ACB official added. The probe also found multiple violations of the Central Public Works Department Works Manual, General Financial Rules -2005, and guidelines laid down by the Central Vigilance Commission. Both accused were taken into custody and booked under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and erstwhile IPC. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
Coming up near Delhi's Najafgarh drain, a ‘recreational & social space'
The Irrigation and Flood Control Department (I&FC) plans to develop a government plot along the Najafgarh drain near Vipin Park in Dwarka as a 'community recreational and social space', officials said. This aligns with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's earlier announcement of the government's intentions to develop a riverfront project along the 57-km-long Sahibi river, now known as the Najafgarh drain. This is, however, not the first time a rejuvenation project related to the river has been planned — in 2022, the then AAP government had allocated a budget of Rs 705 crore for its revival. According to officials, the department has invited a tender to hire a consultant to plan and design the layout of the project. 'According to the official plan, the proposed park is set to come up on 21 acres. As part of this, a water fountain, walking tracks, an outdoor gym, cricket, as well as children's play areas will also be developed,' said an official. The Chhath Ghat at ITO, located along the polluted Yamuna river, is also to be developed as part of the proposal, the official added. The department has set a target of three months within which the design and cost estimation for the project will be prepared. 'The proof-checking of the structural drawings will be undertaken by the IIT-Delhi or IIT-Roorkee, or Delhi Technological University,' said the official. The Najafgarh drain, which enters Delhi near Dhansa and flows to meet the Yamuna near Wazirabad, is among the largest contributors of pollution in Delhi. In all, 22 open drains open to the Yamuna in the city.
Indian Express
17-06-2025
- Climate
- Indian Express
Ahead of monsoon onset in Delhi, PWD misses another deadline to desilt drains, 40% work pending
Ahead of the onset of the monsoon, the Public Works Depart-ment (PWD) has failed to meet its second deadline to complete desilting drains across Delhi. According to the latest status report, only 60.47% of the total 2,140.91-km of PWD-managed drains were desilted, as of Monday. The desilting work was originally scheduled to be completed by May 30, as per the Delhi government's plan but the department was granted additional time, with PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh announcing June 15 as the revised target during a site inspection earlier this month. Despite this extension, progress has remained behind schedule. Senior officials acknowledged the delays but did not offer explanations. Navin Kumar Choudhary, Additional Chief Secretary for both the PWD and the Irrigation and Flood Control Department (the nodal agency for desilting), said that progress varied widely across zones. He added that updates were being regularly shared with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Chief Secretary Dharmendra. With pre-monsoon showers already hitting parts of Delhi and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) expecting an earlier-than-usual monsoon onset, the city, if not fully prepared, could see waterlogging and flooding in vulnerable areas. The Southwest monsoon is expected to hit the city between June 19 and June 25. While monsoon preparedness in Delhi was one of the key poll promises of the BJP during its Assembly election campaign earlier this year, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has repeatedly said that her government is trying to ensure waterlogging-free Delhi this monsoon. The official report shows that out of the 2,140.91 km of drains, 1,294.60 km had been cleared by Monday. While smaller drains have seen moderate progress, several major ones—large in both capacity and urban impact—remain only partially cleared. For example, as per the report, the Shahdara Road drain, which handles high volumes of runoff and spans a sizeable width of over 1,800 mm to 3,000 mm, has seen only 72.92% desilting so far. Similarly, desilting at the East Road drain, another high-capacity conduit, stood at 62.25%, and the North Road (NR) drain, one of the city's longest and largest, is just 52.66% complete. While SWR-2 drain in Southwest Delhi achieved 100% desilting, as per the report, other key stretches such as WR-2 and NWR-2 are languishing at 31.91% and 36.38%, respectively — despite being part of Delhi's core drainage infrastructure The city had set a seasonal target to remove 2.26 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of silt from 77 major drains. As of May 29, 1.42 lakh MT had been cleared—about 62.81%. The total silt removed as of Monday stood at 23,190 MT. Despite the PWD's claims of action on a 'war-footing', the pace and uneven progress can hamper the city's ability to withstand heavy rain — especially in flood-prone pockets like Mehrauli, Okhla, and Shahdara. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa had earlier told The Indian Express in an interview that long-term neglect and poor management by the previous AAP government had created a lot of backlogs, as well as an increase in the time taken to complete several key projects.
Hans India
25-05-2025
- Climate
- Hans India
Delhi L-G hails efforts of Rekha Gupta govt to make drains rain-ready
Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V.K. Saxena on Sunday commended the efforts of the Rekha Gupta government to desilt drains and focus on preparing the city's drainage system to handle rainwater flow during the advancing monsoon. In a social media post accompanied by videos showing rainwater flowing in large drains, the L-G said, 'The morass set in due to neglect of more than a decade will take considerable time getting fully sorted, but the new government's efforts at governance are indeed gratifying.' In a special appreciation for the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, headed by Minister Parvesh Verma, Saxena said, 'It's encouraging to see the Irrigation & Flood Control Deptt striving to make our drains flow & mitigate waterlogging, amidst heavy unexpected rains. The consistent efforts of Hon'ble CM Smt @gupta rekha vide field visits & monitoring have started showing results.' The L-G's words of praise coincided with Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva lauding the government for preparing the city for monsoon. Sachdeva stated that while sudden storms and monsoon-related waterlogging have been regular occurrences in Delhi every year, the situation till last year was worsened by the negligence of the then-government. However, this situation has significantly improved now. Sachdeva said that when Delhiites woke up this morning, they were faced with multiple complaints of fallen trees and waterlogging due to a storm that hit late last night. Following the instructions of CM Gupta, all BJP MLAs and councillors, along with officials from the Delhi Jal Board and Public Works Department, took to the streets. 'By 9 a.m., most trees had been cleared and much of the waterlogging removed, easing traffic across the city. By noon, the situation had been brought under control,' he said. After every spell of rain, the people of Delhi can clearly see the difference between the former Arvind Kejriwal government and the current BJP-led administration, he said. Sachdeva emphasised that while the Kejriwal government used to blame the L-G and officials for waterlogging and leave citizens in the lurch, the BJP government takes responsibility and, after thunderstorms or rain, works actively with officials and staff to normalise the situation.
Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Delhi mega cleanliness drive: Over 3,500 km of MCD roads cleaned, encroachments removed
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Friday released its zone-wise progress report on the 20-day mega cleanliness drive which was launched by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on May 1. All 12 zones of the corporation were covered under the drive that comprised cleaning, encroachment removal, and issuing of challans. As part of the drive, the MCD has cleaned over 3,500 kilometers of roads — the highest amount of cleaning was done in the Rohini Zone, followed by Najafgarh, Karol Bagh, and South Zone, Gupta said in a statement. 'The 'Swachh Delhi' initiative by the Delhi government is receiving tremendous support from the citizens of the capital. The latest figures released by the MCD shows that this comprehensive cleanliness campaign is delivering remarkable results on the ground,' Gupta had said in a statement. A total of 11,131 challans were issued against encroachments, with West Zone recording the highest number of 2,994 challans. Additionally, 5,932 illegal materials were seized, and 186.5 kilometers of roads were cleared of encroachments. Gupta said that to address water-logging issues during monsoon, comprehensive cleaning of the MCD drains was carried out — 19,892.38 metric tonnes of silt has been removed so far. As of May 21, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department removed 13,72,276 metric tonnes of silt from 27 drains in Delhi, with instructions to complete the removal of the remaining silt by May 31. Gupta shared that several stray animals have been transferred to various gaushalas and stray dogs vaccinated against rabies, while unauthorised dairies were sealed in Najafgarh and Keshav Puram. The CM shared that, on an average, 33,809 sanitation workers and other related personnel participated actively in the campaign daily. The government has also identified 4,139 dark spots and rectified them, repaired 4,140 streetlights and installed 285 new lamps to ensure proper lighting. Additionally, 283 Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) were engaged through interactive meetings aimed at empowering citizens' participation in cleanliness. In busy commercial areas, a night-time cleanliness drive was conducted in 418 major markets and removed 37,628 illegal posters, 8,399 banners and 3,917 hoardings from public walls, poles, and hoardings. Besides, 30 walls have been beautified with cleanliness based artwork and cultural themes. Efforts such as grass cutting, removal of unauthorized encroachments, elimination of illegal posters, and repair of damaged roads, management of construction and demolition (C&D) waste were amongst the tasks carried out in a similar cleanliness drive that was carried out in all 14 circles of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
