- By Soumyaroop Mukherjee
- Fri, 19 Sep 2025 06:08 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Rains of Gurugram: With just a few drops of rain, the luxe boulevards of Gurugram, which were built sector by sector on the slopes of the Aravali, turn into a water park every monsoon. At the core of the waterlogging issue lies the inadequate drainage and the absence of an outlet for the water. As Gurugram transitioned from a ‘gaon (village)’ to ‘Cyber City’, it lost several natural water reservoirs, which acted as an exit for the rainwater. Experts have also pointed out that the braided streets of concrete may be another major cause of the deluge in residential areas.
Professor Manoj Mathur of the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, spoke to The Daily Jagran on possible reasons behind waterlogging in Gurugram. He explained that concrete has a low ‘percolation’ capacity, or the ability to soak water. The rainwater that falls on the city thus gets accumulated on the roads, instead of seeping into the ground and flowing into water bodies.
From Gaon To Cyber Hub
This modern-day crisis of waterlogging in Gurugram finds its origin in the 1980s, when urbanisation began. The place was still a village with hundreds of ‘baolis’ around the area, which acted as natural ‘reservoirs’ for the city.
The natural slope of the city is towards the Sahibi River, which has now been reduced to a drain or ‘nala.’ The Sahibi river, now ecologically dead, flows into the Najafgarh nullah in the Delhi NCR region. Government maps still show the Sahibi as an important feature of the irrigation and drainage system of Haryana, particularly of Gurugram's neighbouring Rewari district.
ALSO READ: Rains Of Gurugram: Why It Takes So Long For Water To Drain Out Of Cyber Hub?
But the problem not only lies with Sahibi; Gurugram’s development has been so rapid that it gobbled up all the water bodies in its race to success. For example, the Sukhrail pond, which exists in the papers of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, has disappeared from reality.
Satellite images of Gurugram’s transition bear testimony to these water bodies, which have now disappeared. As a result, the rainwater that would have flowed naturally down the gradient of the Aravallis into the ponds and lakes does not have the unrestricted pathway or the water reservoirs to discharge the water.
The time-lapse Google Earth map from 1984 to 2022 reveals that the change in Gurugram didn't happen overnight.
(Source: Google Earth Engine)
Moreover, to add to the misery of the people, the city is also facing a loss of ‘coordination’ between different stakeholders of the city, as highlighted by Professor Mathur. While the elaborate designs made Gurugram a lookalike of ‘Singapore’, the alleged nexus between the politicians and the bureaucrats led to an ignorance of the topography of the area.
How Does The Drainage Function In Gurugram Currently?
Currently, Gurugram has three major drains as per the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority:
- Leg 1 (from Nathupur village): It passes through DLF Phase 3, Udyog Vihar, Sector 23, Rotary Public School, Rezangla Chowk, New Palam Vohar railway track crossing, Bajghera, before finally joining the Najafgarh drain.
- Leg 2 (from Chakkarpur): It starts from a nearby place in Sector 27, 28, Chakkarpur village, and passes through the Millennium City Metro station, Atul Kataria Chowk/Sheetla Mata Road, Sector 5, New Palam Vihar, the Northern Peripheral Road (Dualatabad), before finally meeting the Najafgarh drain.
- Leg 3 (from Badshahpur): It begins at the Ghata irrigation dam and extends to Vatika Chowk on the Sohna Road, known as the Khost drain. Post this stretch, it is called the Badshahpur drain passing through Golf Course Extension Road, SPR, Hero Honda Chowk, Khandsa, Gadholi Khurd, and ends at the Najafgarh drain.
These drains were once wide, which led to efficient drainage of storm waters. However, presently, the areas near the drains have been sold off, which has narrowed these drains. To save these drains, concrete structures have subsequently been made, which makes water percolation difficult, as pointed out by Professor Manoj Mathur.
(Source: Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority)
What About Noida?
In complete contrast to the case of Gurugram is the case of NOIDA. While the NCR’s Haryana side faces waterlogging, the UP side seems to get on seamlessly even during the peak monsoon season.
But why are two parts of the same NCR region having different issues? Experts point out that while Gurugram has the problem of the outlet of water, the same problem does not exist in Noida, with the Hindon river and the Yamuna coming to the rescue. However, Professor Manoj Mathur pointed out that ‘if these two outlets were not there, Noida probably would have been facing similar problems like Gurugram.’
“What I think is probably the reason is that Gurgaon water has nowhere to go except underground. Noida water has the whole Yamuna and also the Hindon to carry the water away from the city. So, as long as you can make the water go into any of these two places, the Yamuna or the Hindon, you're good,” Professor Manoj Mathur said.
“So basically, the system which you design on the surface, as long as that is good enough to carry the water to these places, there should not be any waterlogging, which I suppose is the case in Noida,” he added.
So, Is There Any Way Forward?
As Gurugram grapples with the need for innovation, Professor Manoj Mathur (SPA Delhi) suggested that an internal sewage system can be a viable option for the city.
“In the last 10 years, all the major intersections of Gurgaon have had many underpasses with roofs so that they do not face any major waterlogging issues. But water still reaches these underpasses because the water flows into the road rather than into proper drainage channels. But if there were a proper channel through which water can be stored in a reservoir, then it would have been like a buffer to help the residents during water shortages.”
(This article is part of the series 'Rains Of Gurugram'. To read more articles in the series, click here)