Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu (LG) chaired a review of rainwater harvesting systems and set June 30 as the deadline for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to complete desilting, repairs and maintenance so systems are operational ahead of the monsoon. He directed agencies to adopt advanced water conservation technologies and to assess total installed capacity to create a data-driven baseline for planning and groundwater recharge.

The meeting was attended by the MCD Commissioner, the NDMC Chairman and the DDA Vice Chairman with their engineering chiefs. The LG said the baseline should guide prioritisation of sites and investment in recharge measures.

The DDA said 621 of its 624 structures are functional and cleaning has been completed for 587; the remaining 34 are under maintenance and must be finished by June 30. The authority is building 24 new pits at public locations including car parks, sports complexes and roadside sites.

The MCD manages 1,289 rooftop harvesting locations across 12 zones, with maintenance done at 1,277 sites and 12 under rectification. The Horticulture Department oversees 400 ground recharge pits, of which 199 have been cleaned, and the rest must be cleared before June 30; the MCD has piloted automated piezometers at three sites to monitor groundwater in real time.

The NDMC manages 340 structures, with work on 290 completed and 50 remaining, comprising 28 modular systems and 22 conventional pits on track for June 25. The council built 61 modular pits during 2025-26, each with a 30,000-litre capacity, using interlocked recycled polypropylene blocks wrapped in geo-textile nets to permit rapid construction without air pollution and immediate surface restoration.

Site selection for new pits was validated with the Central Ground Water Board, focusing on areas with declining water tables. The June 30 deadline applies across agencies for desilting, rooftop pipe repair, grating and maintenance of collection pits and chambers, and the LG directed that no system should be non-operational when the monsoon begins.