Tag: City Planning

‘Here’s Why Gurgaon is Flooded After Every Rain But Noida Is Business As Usual’

By LokMarg

Archit Pratap Singh, an architect and town planner, lists the features that make Noida a much better planned city than Gurugram. His views:

It is essential to analyze and understand the factors contributing to Gurugram’s recurring submergence during monsoon, while Noida located on the other flank of Delhi-NCR manages to withstand the waterlogging onslaught. The key to Noida’s success lies in its meticulous planning and strict criteria for land acquisition. Before any land becomes available for sale to individuals or developers, it must fulfil specific requirements. 

These include the presence of road infrastructure, access to electricity, and a well-established sewer system. This careful planning ensures that Noida remains ahead of Gurugram in terms of preparedness, resulting in minimal instances of waterlogging within the city. 

There is little doubt that Noida’s planning is better than Gurugram. Unlike Gurugram, Noida’s land acquired by the authority gets basic amenities like electricity, road, and sewer prior to it being made available for residential or commercial purposes. 

The extensive storm drain network spanning over 87 kilometers across the city effectively manages excessive rainfall, flushing all the water into either the Hindon or Yamuna rivers. Thus after every heavy downpour, waterlogging may occur but it gets cleared swiftly due to the superior drainage system in place. 

Gurugram, on the other hand, faces the burden of three overburdened drains. One drain, situated near Ambience Mall, directly connects to the Najafgarh drain. The second drain carries water from DLF 1, 2, and 3, Sushant Lok-1, MG Road, and surrounding areas, passing through IFFCO Chowk before joining the Najafgarh drain.  

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The strain on the Najafgarh drain, also known as the Badshahpur drain, which bears the weight of more than 60 per cent of the city’s drainage, is immense. This drain, which runs a meagre 27 kilometer, is still under construction, leading to complications in the system and unprecedented waterlogging within the city, 

Gurugram’s recurring submergence during monsoons can be attributed to a combination of inadequate urban planning, outdated drainage systems, substandard building design, haphazard land-use management, disrupted watersheds, and a lack of green and sustainable practices.  

In contrast, Noida’s resilience against flooding can be attributed to proactive urban planning, modern drainage infrastructure, flood-resistant building design and elevation, effective land-use management, preserved watersheds, and the incorporation of green and sustainable practices. By analyzing and addressing these architectural aspects, Gurugram can aspire to reduce the impact of monsoon flooding and aim for a more sustainable and resilient future. 

As told to Deepti Sharma

NCR Structure Safety Audit

‘Learn From Turkey, Carry Out Safety Audit of Highrise Buildings in NCR’

By LokMarg

Reena Kachroo (39), who lives in a high-rise housing complex of Greater Noida West, says the deadly earthquake in Turkey holds valuable lessons for Indian city planners

Even a casual search on the Internet will tell you that India has been classified into four major seismic zones and parts of Delhi and northern Uttar Pradesh fall in Zone IV, which carries the highest risk of earthquakes. I live in one of the many high-rise residential complexes of Greater Noida West, and after seeing the frightening visuals of recent earthquakes in Turkey, I wonder if these multi-storey apartments can withstand similar seismic shocks.

I have been living in this house for seven years now. There have been multiple complaints about seepage on walls, leakage of pipes, plaster coming off the ceilings, quality of elevators etc. And now I am scared if such buildings can stay safe in the event of a quake.

From this platform, I make an appeal to all concerned citizens to raise their voice for a structural safety survey of all the high-rise housing complexes in Delhi-NCR. I also request Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and urban housing authorities to ensure safety of the large number of residents in the region in the light of the deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Kachroo (right) says Govt must intervene immediately to avert a Turkey-like disaster in Delhi-NCR

Many would remember how in July 2018, there was a twin-building collapse in the Shahberi area of Greater Noida, which left nine people dead. A subsequent IIT Delhi audit had then found that 98 percent of buildings in that area were “dangerous”. In its ‘Building Structural Safety Audit’ of 426 buildings located in Shahberi village in 2019, the IIT report recommended that structural survey, analysis, testing and strengthening programmes be followed for the constructions.

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Many buildings across NCR are getting old; rising complaints of seepage and plasters coming off indicate their erosion. Residents need to know the structural safety of the buildings they are living in. The Turkey-Syria tragedy holds valuable lessons for others. There should be immediate intervention from state departments, and residential associations may contribute financially to ensure the audit and subsequent strengthening measures.

There are a number of buildings across NCR that had been abandoned after primary construction. Later construction work was restarted and the buildings were completed without checking the ‘longevity and the damage to the structure’. There is no check on builders abandoning under-construction projects for years together and then restarting it. Such buildings may be at higher risk of a natural disaster.

Ideally, structural safety audits should be held in Govt supervision every 5-10 years to keep a check of thesafety of the flats, overall health and performance of a building and to ensure the safety of the residents against any possible earthquakes. For buildings beyond 30 years, it must be done once every three years.

Utmost care must be taken to ensure the safety of the occupants of the buildings and the survey and testing team. Buildings must be evacuated and sealed where signs of structural distress, including tilting and cracking, are visible. It’s high time that our government learned a lesson from Nepal and Turkey earthquakes before it is too late.

As told to Deepti Sharma