‘Flood situation won't arise this year,' says Delhi CM; AAP hits back
With the monsoon nearing, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta issued a 'Flood Control Order 2025' on Wednesday. The order, said officials, will apply to all departments responsible for monsoon management and clearing drains in the Capital — Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Public Works Department (PWD), Irrigation and Flood Control Department (I&FC) and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
The order was issued during a meeting of the apex committee on flood control, chaired by Gupta at the Delhi Secretariat, where BJP ministers, MPs, and MLAs were in attendance, along with senior officials from PWD, MCD, DDA, DJB, I&FC, and other civic agencies.
'The Delhi government is fully prepared. Two years ago, there were floods in Delhi. The gates of the barrage did not even open at that time. But I can assure you that flood situation will not arise this time. The government and all departments are fully prepared,' she told reporters after the meeting.
Hitting out, the AAP said in a statement, 'CM Gupta truly represents 'Phulera ki Panchayat', as she lacks even basic knowledge about the ITO barrage. The barrage is maintained by the BJP-ruled Haryana government. In 2023, they had to suspend their Chief Engineer for failing to maintain the barrage gates… It is good that… the BJP has now accepted that the ITO barrage gates were indeed the main cause of the 2023 floods.'
The order is supposed to serve as an annual guidebook for all departments in case of a flood situation. Sector committees have been formed under the leadership of Cabinet Ministers — Pravesh Sahib Singh, Ashish Sood, and Manjinder Singh Sirsa. Each committee will include three to four district magistrates (DM) responsible for flood management in their respective sectors.
A Central Flood Control Room, which will function as a city-wide coordination hub, is set to start on June 15. It has been established at the office of the DM (East), where representatives from all civic bodies will be stationed 24×7.
In addition, 14 wireless stations will monitor water levels of the Yamuna and other vulnerable areas continuously. Gupta said if the Yamuna crosses the warning level of 204.5 metres during the monsoon, residents in low-lying areas will be alerted and shifted to safer locations.
(with PTI inputs)
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