Major cities of India are becoming more vulnerable to flood conditions. Discuss.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Explain why Indian cities are increasingly flood-prone, with examples, and what can be done through planning and disaster management.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Discuss why major Indian cities are becoming more vulnerable to floods: causes, with examples
- Discuss what can be done through urban planning and disaster management
Open with · Recent floods in Mumbai (2005), Srinagar (2014) and Chennai (2015) show that cities now flood after rainfall they once absorbed.
Cover
- Land use: unplanned growth over floodplains, lakes and wetlands, with concrete surfaces that raise runoff and reduce infiltration.
- Drainage: old, undersized and choked storm drains, clogged by solid waste and silt, with poor maintenance and mixed sewage lines.
- Weather: more intense, short-duration rainfall under climate change; coastal cities also face storm surge, high tides and sea-level rise.
- Governance: many agencies with overlapping roles, weak enforcement of master plans and floodplain zoning, and encroachment tolerated for political reasons.
- Preparedness: flood-plain mapping and drainage master plans, restored water bodies, permeable surfaces and rainwater harvesting, as urban flood management guidelines advise.
- Response: better rainfall forecasting and early warning, clear evacuation plans, flood insurance and community drills reduce the loss of life.
Close with · Flood-resilient cities need water-sensitive planning, protection of natural drainage and coordinated governance, not just larger drains.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 277 words (UPSC limit 200) · Minimalist IAS
Mumbai (2005), Srinagar (2014) and Chennai (2015) flooded after rainfall that their rivers, lakes and marshes once absorbed; the vulnerability is largely made in the city, not only in the sky.
Why cities flood more
- Lost natural drainage: growth over floodplains, lakes and wetlands, such as Chennai's shrunken Pallikaranai marsh and the encroached Mithi river in Mumbai, with concrete surfaces that raise runoff and stop infiltration.
- Choked drains: old, undersized storm drains clogged by plastic and silt, mixed with sewage and rarely maintained before the monsoon.
- Intense rain: climate change brings short, heavy downpours that overwhelm drains; coastal cities also face high tides and storm surge that block outflow, as Mumbai found on 26 July 2005.
- Reservoir operation: sudden releases from full reservoirs, as from Chembarambakkam during the Chennai floods of December 2015, add to the peak.
- Governance and exposure: many agencies with overlapping roles, weak enforcement of master plans and floodplain zoning, encroachment tolerated for gain, and the poor settled in low-lying areas along drains and rivers.
What can be done
- Water-sensitive planning: floodplain and drainage master plans, protection and restoration of lakes and wetlands, permeable surfaces, rainwater harvesting and green cover, as the NDMA guidelines on urban flooding (2010) advise.
- Drainage: redesign storm drains for present rainfall intensities, separate them from sewage, and desilt before the monsoon with solid waste kept out.
- Preparedness: city-specific rainfall forecasting and early warning, real-time monitoring of drains and reservoirs, evacuation plans, flood insurance and community drills.
- Governance: one accountable urban flood authority per city, strict action against encroachment, and building codes for flood-prone zones.
Flood-resilient cities need water-sensitive planning, restored natural drainage and coordinated governance, not just larger drains.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.