Parliament Question: Initiatives to Strengthen Urban Flood Risk Management

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3396 TO BE ANSWERED ON MARCH 12, 2026 INITIATIVES TO STRENGTHEN URBAN FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT NO. 3396. SHRI RAVINDRA DATTARAM WAIKAR: DR. D. PURANDESWARI: SMT. BHARTI PARDHI: SHRI SHRIRANG APPA CHANDU BARNE: SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE: DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE: Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) the details of initiatives undertaken to strengthen urban flood risk management including stormwater drainage improvements and resilience planning in flood-prone cities; (b) the technical guidelines issued to municipal corporations for incorporating climate resilience in urban infrastructure; (c) the details of financial allocations and project approvals made for flood mitigation works across metropolitan and Tier-II cities, particularly in Maharashtra; (d) whether any coordination mechanisms have been established between the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, State Governments and disaster management authorities for implementation, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and (e) whether any impact evaluation has been conducted on reduced flood damage losses and improved emergency response capacity, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU) (a) to (c): Management of urban flooding falls under the purview of the State Governments and the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/ Urban Development Authorities, who are responsible for maintaining the drainage and sewerage system. Government of India supplements the efforts of the States through schematic interventions/ advisories. It provides financial and technical support to the States to strengthen Urban Planning ecosystem. …2/--2- The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has published the following documents/advisory guidelines for improving urban drainage and flood management: i. Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines, 2014 (https://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/URDPFI%20Guidelines%20Vo l%20I(2).pdf ) ii. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Urban Flooding (https://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/SOP%20Urban%20flooding_5 %20May%202017.pdf) iii. River Centric Urban Planning Guidelines in 2021 to enable cities in the development of conjunctive water management approaches including nature-based solution (https://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/RCUP%20Guidelines.pdf) iv. Guidance Document on Creation of Rain Water Harvesting Parks (https://mohua.gov.in/pdf/6566e1048ab41guidance-document-on- rainwater-harvesting-parks-final.pdf) v. Manual on Storm Water Drainage System (https://mohua.gov.in/publication/manual-on-storm-water-drainage- systems--2019.php) vi. Guidelines on Management of Urban Flooding issued by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) launched in the year 2015, inter alia, has a component on storm water drainage, which involved construction and improvement of drains/ storm water drains in order to reduce and eliminate flooding and creating green spaces and parks. Under AMRUT, 838 Storm Water Drainage projects worth ₹3017.13 crore were approved. As reported by the States on AMRUT Portal, 820 Storm Water Drainage projects worth ₹2,448.12 crore have been completed. Under AMRUT, 2,522 green spaces and park projects worth ₹1,604.13 crore have been taken up by the States/UTs, of which, 2,502 projects worth ₹1,579.27 crore have been completed. 5,286 acres of permeable green space area have been developed through these projects so far. …3/--3- Under AMRUT 2.0, projects for green spaces and parks and rejuvenation of water bodies and wells are taken up by the States. Under AMRUT 2.0, proposals of the States/ UTs for 2,991 water body rejuvenation projects worth ₹6,083.32 crore and 1,665 green spaces and park projects worth ₹1,103.71 crore covering 13,893.82 acre, have been approved. Besides, under AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0 sewerage and septage management projects have been undertaken, which inter alia help in evacuation of storm water. Under AMRUT, as updated by State/UTs on AMRUT portal, 889 sewerage/septage management projects have been grounded, which has led to creation of 22,477 km length of sewer network. Under AMRUT 2.0, the State/UTs have taken up 584 Sewerage and Septage Management projects covering 34,559 KM of sewer network. The Government has launched the Urban Flood Risk Management Programme (UFRMP) under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) in 2021. This initiative specifically targets seven major metropolitan cities namely, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Pune, with a total allocation of ₹2,500 crore. The allocation for Mumbai is Rs.500 crore. In Maharashtra, the UFRMP targets Mumbai and Pune, with a combined total of 23 mitigation measures approved. These projects represent a significant investment in the state's urban resilience, with a collective budget of ₹1,185.93 crore. Both the cities have received their first instalment (30% of the NDMF allocation) to initiate the implementation of these flood-risk reduction strategies. The details of UFRMP fund to Maharashtra is as under Total Mitigation State Share City NDMF (₹ Cr) Budget (₹ Measures (₹ Cr) Cr) Mumbai 6 500 207.71 707.71 Pune 17 250 228.22 478.22 Total 23 750 435.93 1,185.93 The UFRMP Phase II, with a budget of ₹2,200 crores, targets flood risk mitigation in eleven cities (Tier-II cities) namely, Guwahati, Patna, Kanpur, Trivandrum, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Jaipur, Indore, Lucknow, and Raipur with an allocation of Rs. 222.22 crore each[INR 200 Cr from NDMF(90%) and INR 22.22 Cr from State share (10%)] to assess flood risks, develop preparedness plans, establish multi-hazard frameworks, and enhance community resilience. …4/--4- (d): For AMRUT/ AMRUT 2.0 projects, the Mission guidelines provide for formation of State High Powered Steering Committee (SHPSC) headed by the Chief Secretary of the State, to monitor and supervise implementation of the scheme at the State/ UT level. State Level Technical Committee (SLTC) headed by the Secretary, Urban Development & Housing Department provides technical support to the SHPSC in monitoring and supervising the scheme at the State level. Further, an Apex Committee constituted under the ambit of Mission guidelines reviews and monitors the Mission periodically. Under NDMF guidelines, NDMA has constituted Appraisal Committee under the Chairmanship of concerned Member NDMA, alongwith representative of line Ministries/Departments viz MoHUA and MoJS and other eminent experts in the field of disaster management like IITs, CDRI, UN- Habitat for technical appraisal of the proposals received from concerned States/cities.The concerned city officials and the line Departments of the concerned States vet all original PPR and the same has been submitted to NDMA/MHA with the approval of State Executive Committee (SEC). (e): MoHUA has not conducted any specific impact evaluation study of reduced flood damage losses and improved emergency response capacity. *****