GS Paper I 2020 · Q15
15 marks · 250 words Women, population, poverty & urbanisation X-Ray · Core #5Account for the huge flooding of million cities in India including the smart ones like Hyderabad and Pune. Suggest lasting remedial measures.
Approach · directive: “account for / suggest”
What it asks · Explain why Indian million-plus cities, even planned ones, flood so severely, and suggest lasting structural and governance remedies.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Account for the severe flooding of million-plus cities, including those promoted as smart, such as Hyderabad and Pune
- Suggest lasting remedial measures: physical, planning and institutional
Open with · Mumbai (2005), Chennai (2015) and Hyderabad (2020) show intense rain falling on cities that have paved over the lakes, floodplains and drains that once absorbed it.
Cover
- Lost sponges: lakes, nalas and floodplains built over, as with Hyderabad's lakes and Chennai's Pallikaranai marsh.
- Runoff and drains: concrete raises runoff; old, undersized, silted drains cannot pass a cloudburst.
- Extreme weather: short intense bursts, cyclonic systems, tidal lock in coastal cities, a warming climate.
- Governance: fragmented agencies, weak master plans, lax building rules, poorly timed releases (Chembarambakkam, 2015).
- Remedies: restore lakes and wetlands, binding flood-risk zoning, retention ponds, permeable surfaces, rainwater harvesting.
- Drainage to the MoHUA Manual on Storm Water Drainage Systems (2019) under one authority with real-time forecasts.
- Institutions: NDMA urban flooding guidelines (2010), MoHUA SOP (2017), penalties for encroachment, early warning and insurance.
Close with · Since then, storm water drainage has drawn only Rs 2,969 crore, about 4%, of AMRUT's Rs 77,640 crore project allocation; lasting relief begins when cities fund drains and give rain back its space.
Add value (verified)
- MoHUA's Manual on Storm Water Drainage Systems, 2019 guides the design, planning and management of urban storm water drainage and flood response.Steps to prevent urban flooding — PIB (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) ↗“MoHUA has published a Manual on Storm Water Drainage Systems, 2019 to provide guidance on sustainable design, planning & management of storm water drainage systems and emergency plan for flood response in urban areas.”
- MoHUA's 2017 SOP for Urban Flooding sets out the actions of urban local bodies, district administrations and State governments.Steps to prevent urban flooding — PIB (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) ↗“MoHUA has issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Urban Flooding in 2017 which lays down the specific actions to be undertaken by the Urban Local Bodies, District Administration and the State Government.”
- Storm water drainage is an AMRUT component but received only Rs 2,969 crore (4%) of the Rs 77,640 crore project allocation.Steps to prevent urban flooding — PIB (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) ↗“Storm water drainage is one of the components of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). Against total allocation of ₹77,640 crore for projects under AMRUT, ₹2,969 crore (4%)”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 16 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 290words · Minimalist IAS
Mumbai (2005), Chennai (2015) and Hyderabad (2020) show one pattern: intense rain falling on cities that have paved over the lakes, floodplains and drains that once absorbed it. Even cities branded smart, such as Hyderabad and Pune, flood for the same reasons.
Why million cities flood
- Lost sponges: lakes, nalas and floodplains have been built over and wetlands filled, as with Hyderabad's lakes and Chennai's Pallikaranai marsh, so rain has nowhere to go.
- Runoff over drains: concrete raises runoff, while old, undersized drains silted with waste cannot pass a cloudburst.
- Extreme weather: short, intense bursts, cyclonic systems and tidal lock in coastal cities, sharpened by a warming climate.
- Governance gaps: many agencies, weak master plans, lax building rules and poorly timed reservoir releases, as at Chembarambakkam in 2015.
- Smart, not drained: smart-city upgrades to roads and services rarely rebuild a drainage network laid decades ago.
- Intense rain
- paved catchment, lost lakes
- faster, larger runoff
- silted, undersized drains
- waterlogged city
Lasting remedial measures
- Give water room: restore lakes and wetlands, protect floodplains and natural drains through binding flood-risk zoning, and add retention ponds, permeable paving and rooftop harvesting.
- Rebuild drainage: design networks to MoHUA's Manual on Storm Water Drainage Systems, 2019, under one drainage authority with real-time rain and river forecasts.
- Plan and enforce: apply NDMA's guidelines on urban flooding (2010) and MoHUA's SOP for Urban Flooding (2017), which assigns tasks to urban local bodies, district administrations and States; penalise encroachment.
- Serve people: keep drains clear through solid-waste management, and give low-lying settlements early warning, relief and insurance.
Since then, storm water drainage has drawn only Rs 2,969 crore, about 4%, of AMRUT's Rs 77,640 crore project allocation; lasting relief begins when cities fund drains and give rain back its space.
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.
