New Delhi: The Public Works Department (PWD) is set to replace several decades-old brick and brick-barrel drains across the city with factory-made precast reinforced cement concrete (RCC) drains, as part of an effort to remodel Delhi’s ageing storm-water network.
Experts say that surface drains were introduced by the British in the 19th century in India, replacing older underground drains. The replacement is expected to cover several stretches across north, south and east Delhi, in areas including Timarpur, Andrews Ganj, Swaroop Nagar-Burari, Goyla Dairy Road and roads around Pankha Road and Dabri, where patches of older drains still exist. Several remnants of this older system have survived underground. “Most of these drains were built across the new and central Delhi areas as well as in refugee colonies like Lajpat Nagar and parts of north Delhi.
The project will cost approximately ₹ 150 crore, officials said. The new PWD orders mandate that at least 90% of the drain-remodelling work should be executed using factory-made RCC precast drain boxes, with the remaining portion allowed to be constructed through the cast-in-situ method, which involves concrete being poured, molded, and cured directly at its final location on the construction site. Among the sanctioned works, ₹ 37.61 crore has been approved for construction of precast and RCC box drains in place of old brick/pipe drains on Andrews Ganj roads. Another ₹ 49.98 crore has been sanctioned for replacing old brick drains on stretches from Dabri roundabout towards Triveni Park, Pankha Road and connecting stretches towards Janak Setu. A ₹ 32.27-crore project has also been approved for a precast RCC drain, toe wall and footpath on Goyla Dairy Road. In north Delhi, ₹ 47.79 crore has been sanctioned for construction and remodelling of drains along Swaroop Nagar-Burari Road, Libaspur-Siraspur Road and adjoining stretches. A separate ₹ 16.71-crore sanction covers drain and footpath work on Timarpur Road.
Any deviation from this ratio will require technical justification from the concerned executive engineer, officials said. A senior PWD official said the replacement will focus on stretches where the existing brick drains have become old and require repeated maintenance. “The objective is to replace the old drainage structures with properly designed precast RCC drains and ensure that the capacity of the drains is adequate for storm-water discharge, particularly during the rainy season,” the official said. Since these are much older, they may have collapsed in some areas and may need replacement as these were built to carry lesser volume of sewage and storm water than what is discharged now,” said Manu Bhatnagar from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach).
Officials said that the replacement is being done according to the projections in the new drainage master plan that was announced last year. However, he cautioned that the goal should be increasing the overall capacity. As per the master plan, the entire drainage network across the city is expected to be upgraded over the next five years.
He added that the discharge volume has increased manifold over the years due to increasing population densities, which justifies the need for replacement.
“The PWD must have their calculations right about whether the new drains will have enough capacity to sustain discharge for the next few decades, otherwise it would be an infructuous exercise,” said Bhatnagar.
