Account for the huge flooding of million cities in India including the smart ones like Hyderabad and Pune. Suggest lasting remedial measures. (UPSC IAS Mains 2020 General Studies Paper – 1)
Urban flooding has become a common occurrence these days in India. Several cities have suffered catastrophic flooding situations over the past few years. The latest victim of flooding were Hyderabad and Pune. According to recent studies, more than 50% of smart cities in India are prone to floods.
Some of the most common reasons for frequent flooding in urban India are as below:
- Inadequate Drainage Infrastructure: Cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai rely on a century-old drainage system, covering only a small part of the core city.
- Terrain Alteration: Lasting irreversible damage has been done to the city by property builders, property owners, and public agencies by flattening terrain and altering natural drainage routes.
- Reducing Seepage: Indian cities are becoming increasingly impervious to water, not just because of increasing built up but also because of the nature of materials used which is hard, non-porous.
- Lax Implementation: Even with provisions of rainwater harvesting, sustainable urban drainage systems, etc., in regulatory mechanisms like the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), adoption at user end as well as enforcement agencies remains weak.
Lasting Remedial Measures to Counter Floods
Countering urban floods is not possible through one size fits all approach as geological reasons resulting in floods are different for different cities. The following steps can be taken to mitigate the frequent urban flood situations in million plus cities:
- In the case of South Indian cities, especially like Hyderabad and Chennai, flooding takes place mainly due to sudden downpour caused by cyclonic activities. To reduce the events of floods, the need is to clear the critical areas, like waterbodies, from encroachments.
- In the Himalayan areas, cloud burst events, especially during monsoon season,result in flash floods. To counter the same, check dams, small-scale levees and sandbag embankments need to be developed. Increasing the width and base level of river flow will increase downstream flow and prevent overflowing of rivers.
- In case of cities like Patna and Kolkata lying in plain areas, the ‘normal’ riverine floods occur which are comparatively easy to predict and counter. The need is to construct a ‘sponge city’ with a larger number of gardens, parks, wetlands, and floodplains nearby and use modern technologies to divert surplus water from the city. This will not only recharge depleted aquifers but also prevent the fast-changing hydrology of the rivers.
Shortcomings in urban planning and poor coordination among various departments/bodies have resulted in damaging the existing infrastructure of cities which ultimately resultsin flood situations. The government through public-private partnership should try to address the problem at the earliest.
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