**Executive Summary:**
This document is a response to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 164 regarding the modernisation of drainage networks in India. It outlines the Government of India's support for State Governments and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in addressing urban flooding through various schemes, guidelines, and financial assistance. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) provides technical and financial support but the responsibility lies primarily with the State Governments and ULBs. The response was laid on the Table of the House on July 31, 2025.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
* **Responsibility and Support:**
* Management of urban flooding is the responsibility of State Governments and ULBs.
* The Government of India supplements state efforts through schematic interventions and advisories, offering financial and technical support to strengthen urban planning.
* **MoHUA Guidelines and Manuals:**
* The MoHUA has published several documents to improve urban drainage and flood management, including:
* URDPFI Guidelines, 2014 (Chapters on Sustainability and Infrastructure Planning)
* Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Urban Flooding
* River Centric Urban Planning Guidelines (2021)
* Guidance Document on Creation of Rain Water Harvesting Parks
* Manual on Storm Water Drainage System, 2019 (Volumes I and II)
* **Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT):**
* AMRUT focused on storm water drainage, green spaces, and parks to reduce flooding.
* 838 Storm Water Drainage projects worth ₹3016.82 crore were approved, with 809 projects worth ₹2,401.38 crore completed, eliminating 3,759 water logging points.
* 2,529 permeable green spaces and park projects worth ₹1,606.31 crore were taken up, with 2,464 projects worth ₹1,533.83 crore completed, developing 5,092 acres of permeable green space.
* Under AMRUT 2.0, proposals for 3,032 water body rejuvenation projects and 1,684 permeable green spaces and park projects have been approved.
* Sewerage and septage management projects have also been undertaken under AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0 to aid in storm water evacuation.
* **Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM):**
* SAM initiative under AMRUT was piloted in 9 cities, focusing on aquifer mapping and recharge structures.
* SAM 2.0 aims to scale these efforts to 75 additional cities, focusing on groundwater recharge plans and awareness.
* **15th Finance Commission:**
* ₹2,500 crores allocated under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) for integrated flood management in seven major cities.
* **National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA):**
* NDMA's Technical Guidelines direct ULBs to modernise drainage, incorporate sponge city concepts, and include Flood Zones in Master Plans.
**Impact Analysis:**
* **State Governments and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs):**
* *Impact:* Responsible for managing urban flooding through drainage and sewerage systems. Expected to implement urban planning as per the 12th Schedule of the Constitution.
* *Action Required:* Utilize MoHUA guidelines and manuals, leverage AMRUT and other schemes, and incorporate NDMA guidelines into master plans.
* **Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA):**
* *Impact:* Responsible for providing financial and technical support, publishing guidelines, and overseeing the implementation of urban development schemes.
* *Action Required:* Continue to provide support to states, monitor progress of projects under AMRUT and other schemes, and update guidelines as needed.
* **Citizens:**
* *Impact:* Directly affected by urban flooding and benefit from improved drainage and water management systems.
* *Action Required:* Participate in awareness programs related to water management and support local initiatives for flood mitigation.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: The Indian government ministry responsible for policies, programs, and regulations related to housing and urban development.
AMRUT: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, a Government of India initiative focused on improving urban infrastructure, including stormwater drainage.
Urban Local Bodies: Local governing bodies in urban areas responsible for maintaining drainage and sewerage systems.
Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation URDPFI Guidelines, 2014: Advisory guidelines published by the MoHUA for improving urban drainage and flood management.
Mumbai, Maharashtra: One of India's most populous cities that has been allocated funds under the 15th Finance Commission for integrated flood management solutions.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu: One of India's most populous cities that has been allocated funds under the 15th Finance Commission for integrated flood management solutions.
National Disaster Mitigation Fund NDMF: A fund under the 15th Finance Commission that has allocated funds for integrated flood management solutions in populous cities.
Shallow Aquifer Management SAM: An initiative under AMRUT focused on managing shallow aquifers through mapping, recharge structures, and integration of groundwater management into urban planning.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. 164
TO BE ANSWERED ON JULY 31, 2025
MODERNISATION OF DRAINAGE NETWORK
NO. 164. SHRI SRIBHARAT MATHUKUMILLI:
Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to
state:
(a) whether the Government has assessed the increasing frequency
and severity of urban flooding in major cities due to extreme
rainfall, inadequate stormwater infrastructure and unplanned
urbanisation and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether any city-wise mapping of flood-prone zones, outdated
drainage systems and encroached natural water channels has
been undertaken under AMRUT, Smart Cities Mission or any
other related urban schemes and if so, the details thereof;
(c) the steps being taken by the Government to support State
Governments and Urban Local Bodies in modernising drainage
networks, integrating sponge city principles and enforcing urban
flood risk zoning in master plans; and
(d) whether the Government proposes to develop a National Urban
Flood Resilience Framework to coordinate across departments
and ensure climate-resilient infrastructure planning and if so,
the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
(SHRI MANOHAR LAL)
(a) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (d) OF THE LOK
SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 164 DUE FOR ANSWER IN THE LOK
SABHA ON 31ST JULY, 2025 REGARDING “MODERNISATION OF DRAINAGE
NETWORK”.
(a) to (d): Management of urban flooding falls under the purview of the
State Governments and the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/ Urban
Development Authorities at city level, who are responsible for
maintaining the drainage and sewerage system. Further, as per 12th
Schedule of the Constitution, Urban Planning is the function of Urban
Local Bodies (ULBs)/ Urban Development Authorities. 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.
The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has published
the following documents/advisory guidelines for improving urban
drainage and flood management, viz.:
i. Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and
Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines, 2014 (Chapter 6: Sustainability
guidelines and Chapter 8: Infrastructure Planning):https://
mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/URDPFI%20Guidelines%20Vol%2
0I(2).pdf
ii. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Urban Flooding
https://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/SOP%20Urban%20floodin
g_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.pdfiv. 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, 2019 (Volume I and Volume
II (https://mohua.gov.in/publication/manual-on-storm-water-drainage-
systems--2019.php)
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)
inter alia, focussed 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 ₹3016.82
crore were approved. As reported by the States on AMRUT Portal, 809
Storm Water Drainage projects worth ₹2,401.38 crore have been
completed, which has resulted in elimination of 3,759 water logging
points. Under AMRUT, 2,529 permeable green spaces and park
projects worth ₹1,606.31 crore have been taken up by all States/UTs,
of which, 2,464 projects worth ₹1,533.83 crore have been completed.
5,092 acre of permeable green space area developed through these
projects.
Under AMRUT 2.0, proposals of the States/ UTs for 3,032 water
body rejuvenation projects worth ₹6,210.66 crore and 1,684 permeable
green spaces and park projects worth ₹1,078.63 crore covering 2122
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, 890 sewerage/septage
management projects have been grounded, which has led to creation
of 21,754 km length of sewer network. Under AMRUT 2.0 so far, 586Sewerage and Septage Management projects have been approved
covering 35,268 KM of sewer network.
Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM) initiative under the Atal
Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) was
launched as a pilot project across 9 diverse Indian cities. The initiative
aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of strategic interventions in
managing shallow aquifers, focusing on aquifer mapping, the
construction and restoration of recharge structures, and the
integration of groundwater management into urban planning
frameworks. Building on the successes and the lessons learned,
initiative has been taken under SAM 2.0 to scale these efforts to 75
additional cities. SAM 2.0 focuses on developing groundwater
recharge plans, demonstration of variety of recharge structures, and
build knowledge on creating awareness among city officials and
citizens on importance of aquifer management in overall water
management strategy of cities.
Under 15th Finance Commission, ₹2,500 crores has been
allocated under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) for
integrated flood management solutions in seven of India’s most
populous cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad,
Ahmedabad and Pune. National Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA)’s Technical Guidelines include direction to ULBs for
modernising drainage, incorporate sponge city concepts and include
Flood Zones in Master Plans.
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