Parliament Question: Preventing urban flooding in metropolitan cities

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4047 ANSWERED ON 30/03/2026 PREVENTING URBAN FLOODING IN METROPOLITAN CITIES 4047. SHRI PRAMOD TIWARI: Will the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs be pleased to state: (a) the present condition of storm-water drainage systems in metropolitan cities; (b) the steps taken so far for drainage upgradation including flood mitigation projects in such cities; and (c) the funds allocated and utilised to prevent urban flooding during the last three years? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU) (a) to (c): Water and Sanitation is State subject and 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. 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 have been taken up by the States/Union Territories (UTs). Further, 2,522 green spaces and park projects worth ₹1,604.13 crore have been taken up by the States/UTs under AMRUT and 5,286 acres of permeable green space area have been developed so far through these projects. Under AMRUT 2.0, projects for green spaces and parks and rejuvenation of water bodies 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 covering around 1,21,800 acres of area 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 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%20 Vol% 20I(2).pdf ) …2/--2- 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) 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 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. The mitigation measures approved and allocation of funds in Phase-I and Phase II of UFRMP are as under: NDMF State Total Budget City Mitigation Measures (in Cr. ₹) (in Cr. ₹) (in Cr. ₹) Phase - I Mumbai 6 500 207.71 707.71 Pune 17 250 228.22 478.22 Hyderabad 4 250 69.53 319.53 Kolkata 6 500 150.43 650.43 Bengaluru 12 250 25 275 Ahmedabad 6 250 25 275 Chennai 5 500 61.29 561.29 Total 56 2500 767.18 3267.18 Phase – II Guwahati 8 180 20 200 *****