With the removal of more than 1.7 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of silt in the first phase between January 1 and June 30, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has surpassed its desilting target for major drains.
In an official statement, the civic body said it has cleared 1,70,619.89 MT of silt from 800 drains, spanning 530.82 km across 12 zones. All the drains cleared were of a height or width of 4 feet and above. With this move, MCD said, it has achieved 134.9% of its first-phase target of clearing 1.2 lakh MT of silt.
It claimed that the volume of silt cleared this year was 2.18 times higher than the drains cleared in 2024 during the same period. Around 78,000 MT of silt was removed between January and June last year, it said.
This year, a total of 61,386.47 MT of silt was removed from the Central Zone, followed by the Najafgarh Zone (24,713.15 MT), and the North Shahdara Zone (24,152.52 MT). The South Shahdara Zone trailed with 23,519. 22 MT of silt cleared.
The civic body added that the renewed thrust on drain cleaning is expected to significantly reduce waterlogging and improve drainage flow in the Capital during the monsoon season.
It further urged the citizens to avoid dumping garbage into drains and also support the corporation’s cleanliness efforts.
