An overflowing drain in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills following heavy rain on September 2.
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), which, together with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), had launched the Urban Flood Risk Management Programme (UFRMP) for select cities in the country, has been lackadaisical in releasing funds for the same.
Two years after proposals were invited from the Telangana government for measures towards implementation of the programme in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits, not a single rupee has been released from either MoHUA or the NDMA.
The programme was launched in 2022 after the 15th Finance Commission allocated ₹1,500 crore under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund for urban flood mitigation in the seven most populous cities of the country.
Two goals
The primary objectives of the UFRMP are two fold: to use the lakes in flood control by making them absorb the excess flow temporarily and release it at a safe rate over a period of time, and to restore the stormwater drains by delinking sewage flow.
Hyderabad was one of the seven cities, with the others being Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Pune. It was allocated ₹250 crore under the programme, to be released over five years starting from 2023-24. The fund can be utilised to undertake structural and non-structural stormwater management projects over the said duration.
Later, the NDMA rolled out similar programmes for nine more cities, but not a even a single tranche of the promised funding has reached Hyderabad.
Proposals for lake revival
The GHMC had sent proposals worth ₹141.37 crore for 47 lakes under the component of rejuvenation and restoration of waterbodies to make them function as minor flood-control structures. Measures such as bund strengthening and protection; installation of sluice valves; and creation of inlets as part of flow regulation had been proposed.
Under the programme, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board had proposed 21 projects with an estimate of ₹100.45 crore for diversion of sewage from stormwater drains.
The GHMC had also proposed the construction of permeable pavement for walkways as part of the improvement proposals for seven lakes to reduce stormwater runoff. For this, ₹20 crore had been sought, with the promise that it would be replicated subsequently for all footpaths and walkways throughout the city.
A provision of ₹57.71 crore had been sought for a customised flood early-warning system for the GHMC area, with modules for data acquisition; advanced modelling techniques; and coordination among the government agencies, emergency responders and the public.
The components of the system comprise software development and customisation; establishment of command centre; installation of sensors; and a LIDAR survey.
Officials from GHMC, seeking anonymity, said they hope that the NDMA release the two tranches of funding soon.
Published – September 06, 2024 09:25 pm IST
