Gurgaon: Recurring waterlogging in Gurgaon is not merely a civic inconvenience but has a direct bearing on citizens’ human rights, Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) has observed. Taking suo motu cognisance of TOI reports, the commission ordered govt agencies to conduct a comprehensive audit of the city’s drainage and civic infrastructure.In an order published Friday, the commission noted that the problem appeared to have persisted over several years and, therefore, could not be attributed to one wet spell. Such repeated disruption of roads, schools, emergency services, water supply and everyday mobility during heavy rain could not be treated as an “unavoidable feature of urban life”, it said.Drainage was a “basic and essential prerequisite” of planned urban development, HHRC said, linking its failure with Article 21 of Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, including living with dignity in conditions conducive to health and safety. It also referred to the constitutional obligations related to public health and environmental protection.The HHRC full bench, comprising Justice (retd) Lalit Batra, judicial member Kuldeep Jain and member Deep Bhatia, stopped short of holding any agency responsible at this stage. It said persistent failure of essential civic infrastructure, “if attributable to neglect, inadequate planning, failure of maintenance or failure to take reasonable preventive measures”, may have a direct bearing on human rights. The proceedings, it said, would ascertain the facts, determine responsibility, and secure preventive and remedial measures.The commission pointed to the ordeal of school students stranded in buses, parents wading through flooded roads, and the difficulties in getting information about children’s safety. It also referred to reports of commuters taking disproportionately long to cover short distances and the disruption to ambulances and essential services during the Aug 24 downpour, reported by TOI.The panel stressed that Gurgaon’s civic infrastructure must match the scale and density of its population and economic activity.The commission ordered GMDA, the municipal corporation, Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran, PWD, the public health engineering department, the irrigation and water resources department, DHBVN, town planning authorities and the district administration to conduct a technical audit of Gurgaon’s drainage and associated infrastructure.The audit will have to identify the capacity of the existing storm-water network, natural drains and watercourses, chronic waterlogging points (including the 99 locations flagged by authorities), causes of water accumulation, condition of drains and pumping stations, possible interconnection of sewage and storm-water systems, vulnerable underground utilities, and road-level and drainage deficiencies.HHRC further ordered GIS-based mapping of natural and engineered drainage channels and identification of encroachments or obstructions affecting natural drainage. It asked the authorities concerned to assess whether the existing system could cope with present and projected rainfall and future urbanisation.Separately, the commission sought a report on implementation of the SOP on school transport. It called for real-time tracking of school buses; communication between schools, parents, police and the administration; designated safe holding points, and restrictions on school buses entering identified high-risk waterlogging locations during extreme rainfall.It also directed authorities to identify emergency corridors for ambulances, fire services and police, and ordered a vulnerability assessment of roads, culverts, underpasses and underground utilities, particularly around the cave-in reported near IFFCO Chowk.Agencies will have to provide details of drainage deficiencies reported during the last five years, remedial measures sanctioned and the status of their implementation. They must also furnish details of pre-monsoon desilting, pumping capacity, deployment during the Aug 24 rainfall, response times, and the time taken to clear waterlogging at major locations.The commission suggested an independent technical assessment be undertaken by an IIT, NIT or another reputable hydrological/urban infrastructure institution, covering the whole Gurgaon drainage basin rather than examining individual waterlogging spots in isolation.
