GS Paper I 2016 · Q17
12½ marks · 200 words Women, population, poverty & urbanisation X-Ray · Core #5Major 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.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Discuss why major Indian cities are becoming more vulnerable to floods: causes, with examples
- Discuss what can be done through planning and disaster management
Open with · Census 2011 put India's urban share at 31.16 per cent and rising; Mumbai (2005), Srinagar (2014) and Chennai (2015) flooded after rain their lakes and marshes once absorbed.
Cover
- Lost natural drainage: building over floodplains, lakes and wetlands; concrete raises runoff and stops infiltration.
- Coastal exposure: high land values push Mumbai and Chennai onto floodplains and the shore (NCERT).
- Choked drains: old, undersized storm drains clogged by waste and silt, mixed with sewage.
- Intense rain and tides: short heavy downpours, high tides blocking outfalls, sudden reservoir releases.
- Governance: urban floods sit with States and urban local bodies; many agencies, weak zoning, encroachment.
- Remedies: NDMA urban flood guidelines, URDPFI 2014, Storm Water Drainage Manual 2019, rainwater harvesting bye-laws, Finance Commission funds, early warning.
Close with · Mumbai's lesson of 2005 is that a city must make room for water: restored lakes, floodplains and wetlands protect more than ever-larger drains.
Add value (verified)
- Management of urban floods rests with State governments and urban local bodies, which maintain city drainage.Threat of Urban Floods, Lok Sabha reply — PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs, 6 Feb 2024 ↗“Management of urban floods falls under the purview of the State Governments and the Urban Local Bodies / Urban Development Authorities, who are responsible for maintaining the drainage and sewerage system in the cities / towns.”
- NDMA's urban flooding guidelines call for a proactive, participatory, multi-sector approach.Threat of Urban Floods, Lok Sabha reply — PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs, 6 Feb 2024 ↗“These guidelines call for a proactive, participatory, well-structured, failsafe, multi-disciplinary and multi-sector approach at various levels.”
- MoHUA's URDPFI Guidelines (2014) integrate the NDMA guidelines; its Storm Water Drainage Manual came in 2019.Threat of Urban Floods, Lok Sabha reply — PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs, 6 Feb 2024 ↗“Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has issued Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines, 2014 by integrating NDMA guidelines.”
- Model Building Bye Laws (2016) make rainwater harvesting mandatory on plots of 100 sq m or more.Threat of Urban Floods, Lok Sabha reply — PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs, 6 Feb 2024 ↗“MoHUA has formulated Model Building Bye Laws (MBBL), 2016 for the States/UTs for mandatory inclusion of the complete proposal of rainwater harvesting for plot size of 100 sq.m. or more.”
- The Fifteenth Finance Commission recommended Rs 2,500 crore under NDMF for urban flood solutions, including three metro cities (Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata).Threat of Urban Floods, Lok Sabha reply — PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs, 6 Feb 2024 ↗“allocation of Rs. 2,500 Crore under National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) over its award period to prepare integrated solutions for flood management for three metro cities (Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata)”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 16 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 298words · Minimalist IAS
Census 2011 put India's urban share at 31.16 per cent, and it grows fast. Mumbai (2005), Srinagar (2014) and Chennai (2015) flooded after rain their rivers, lakes and marshes once absorbed, so the vulnerability is largely built by the city itself.
Why cities flood more
- Lost natural drainage: building over floodplains, lakes and wetlands, as along Mumbai's Mithi river, swaps sponge-like ground for concrete.
- Coastal exposure: high land values push Mumbai and Chennai onto floodplains and the shore, inviting cyclone and surge damage.
- Choked drains: old, undersized storm drains, clogged by plastic and silt and mixed with sewage, are rarely desilted in time.
- Intense rain: short, heavy downpours overwhelm drains, high tides block outfalls, and sudden releases from full reservoirs add to the peak.
- Governance gaps: urban floods fall to States and urban local bodies, so many agencies share drains, zoning goes unenforced and the poor settle in low-lying areas.
- Concrete over lakes
- more runoff, less infiltration
- choked drains
- heavy rain or high tide
- waterlogged city
What can be done
- Plan with water: NDMA's urban flooding guidelines seek a proactive, participatory, multi-sector approach; MoHUA's URDPFI Guidelines (2014) fold them into city plans.
- Redesign drains: MoHUA's Manual on Storm Water Drainage Systems (since then, 2019) guides design for present rainfall.
- Hold rain on site: Model Building Bye Laws (2016) require rainwater harvesting on plots of 100 sq m or more; restored lakes act as detention basins.
- Fund resilience: since then (PIB reply, February 2024), the Fifteenth Finance Commission earmarked Rs 2,500 crore for urban flood solutions, including Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
- Warn and prepare: ward-level rain gauges, early warning, evacuation drills and flood insurance cut losses.
Mumbai's lesson of 2005 is that a city must make room for water: restored lakes, floodplains and wetlands protect more than ever-larger drains.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 16 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
