Known as the Millennium city, Gurugram faces flooding every monsoon, creating havoc. Roads are inundated, causing vehicles to crawl, and traffic jams last for hours, leaving residents in distress. In 2025, heavy rainfall in July, August, and September brought the city to a standstill.
Affected areas like Golf Course Road, Sohna Road, and NH-8 experienced flooding with water entering homes and power outages being common. But is this a rain issue, or due to poor city planning and failing drainage systems?
Reasons Beyond Just the Rain
Despite an average rainfall of only 600 mm — far less than cities like Kochi which receive around 3,000 mm — Gurugram drowns even in moderate rain, pointing to faulty urban planning. The rapid, unchecked development by private firms during the 1970s and '80s lacked any comprehensive planning.
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Source: aajtak
What's once mustard fields have seen the rise of high-rises and highways, but without proper slope management. With Aravalli's waters flowing north, the destruction of original drainage pathways — from 60 natural canals reduced to merely 4 — exacerbates the problem.
Concrete has limited the earth's capacity to absorb water, with just 2% seeping into the ground. Lack of adequate drainage allows floods to worsen under rapid urbanization, as systems struggle to handle the ever-growing population.
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Why Drainage Systems Fail: Key Factors
Before the monsoon, Gurugram’s drainage system capitulates due to five main reasons since 2020: limited drainage capacity, natural flow obstructions, delayed monsoon preparations, waste build-up, and a chronic lack of maintenance.
Source: aajtak
Poor Drainage Network: Aging main stormwater drains, like the Badshahpur drain, are overwhelmed, having not expanded with the population. While the GMDA hired consultants for a 2031 plan, the study remains incomplete.
Natural Water Bodies' Decline: From 640 reservoirs in 1956, only 251 remain. Ghata Lake (370 acres) now serves as a dumping ground; construction waste fills others, crippling absorption capacities.
Encroachment and Waste: Natural drains are blocked by encroachment. Since 2016, despite MCG investing 500 crores, 100 waterlogging spots persist on NH-8, Narsinghpur, and Hero Honda Chowk, particularly during the monsoon.
Unplanned Construction: Private real estate largely ignored topography, leading to 52 villages' improper urbanization without drainage considerations.
Maintenance and Coordination Lapses: Despite multiple agencies (MCG, GMDA, NHAI), coordination is absent. Incomplete projects, like Hero Honda Chowk and SPR, continue to halt progress.
Source: aajtak
The Usual Chaos: Flooded Roads, Traffic Jams, and Impacts on Homes
This is a yearly phenomenon. In July 2025, 133 mm of rain crippled the city, inundating he Golf Course Extension Road and Sohna Road with 3-4 feet of water, trapping vehicles, and leaving traffic at a standstill for hours. A woman shared footage of water entering luxury flats worth crores.
According to a company CEO, even prestigious flats are susceptible to minor downpours, reminiscent of Venice. Underpasses such as IFFCO Chowk flood, basements fill, and in 2023, heavy rainfall brought 10-foot waters to several societies, causing four-hour traffic jams and blocking homeward routes.
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Impact on Residents' Lives
With over 2 million residents, Gurugram's outdated infrastructure can't keep up. Unplanned urban sprawl resulted in buildings on floodplains, leading to traffic congestion, office delays, and business losses. Poor waste management blocks drains, escalating health risks during monsoons — notably dengue and malaria.
Source: aajtak
Government and Authorities' Actions
Despite spending 500 crores, MCG and GMDA's results are negligible. Between 2025-26, 15.7 crores were spent on drain cleaning. However, RWAs claim cleaning hasn't occurred since 2023, despite deploying 141 pumps and 77 tankers.
Solutions:
Implement the 'Sponge City' concept – restore green infrastructure and water bodies, and apply rainwater harvesting. Halt unplanned construction, and modernize drainage. Follow NDMA guidelines to prevent Surender Mode every monsoon.
Gurugram's persistent floods stem from poor planning, drainage failures, and encroachments, and the surrender approach must end. Comprehensive strategies for drainage upgrades, natural water restoration, and improved coordination must be fast-tracked.
