New Delhi, Mar 21 (PTI) Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said his government will appoint two consultants to resolve Delhi's drainage problems and help in overcoming issues like waterlogging to make it a "world-class" capital, an official statement said.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting, which was chaired by the chief minister, to discuss the Delhi Drainage Master Plan.

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According to the statement, Kejriwal also took stock of all the timelines related to the appointment of consultants and augmentation of drains in Delhi.

During the meeting, he said it is essential to overcome issues like waterlogging to make Delhi a "world-class" capital and the government is working round the clock to rid the city of its drainage woes.

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"The Delhi government will appoint two consultants to look after the project. One consultant will handle the works of the Najafgarh basin. The second consultant will look after Trans-Yamuna and Barapullah basins. They will prepare the blueprints for augmenting Delhi's drainage systems and monitor the implementation work as well," the statement said.

Delhi is divided into three major natural drainage basins -- Trans-Yamuna, Barapullah and Najafgarh. In addition to these, there are some small drainage basins in Aruna Nagar and Chandrawal that drain directly into the Yamuna river.

Kejriwal also emphasised bringing the entire project under the purview of one agency.

He said the problems of drainage and waterlogging affect every citizen of Delhi. If the government can look after the entire project, it will be able to overcome significant challenges and make the system world-class.

"We have been working very hard to resolve Delhi's drainage and waterlogging problems. This is our dream project. We should initiate discussions with all caretaker agencies and ask them to let us take charge of transforming the drainage system. A plan must be chalked out for this purpose so that requisite approvals can be sought," the statement quoted Kejriwal as saying.

The chief minister further directed officials to make the necessary preparations to seek approvals from all the concerned agencies.

He also directed officers to resolve the problem of waterlogging during heavy rains.

"For this purpose, necessary changes will be made in every wastewater drain and stormwater drain so that even during heavy rains, better drainage can be ensured and the problem of waterlogging can be resolved," he added.

There are about 2,846 drains in Delhi with a total length of about 3,692 kilometres.

The majority of these drains are managed by the Public Works Department (PWD), which is also the nodal department.

The statement said that the PWD has identified 147 waterlogging hotspots in Delhi and is preparing short-term and long-term strategies to prevent waterlogging in these areas in the future.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)