Nearly 64% of the city’s rainwater harvesting pits remain clogged and are yet to be cleaned and desilted, raising concerns about the flood preparedness ahead of the monsoons, as per data by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG).(Representative image) The civic body plans to finish desilting by June-end and has partnered with IIT Gandhinagar, which identified 200 additional flood-prone locations. (HT Archive)MCG officials said only 150 of the 408 existing rainwater harvesting systems have been cleared so far, while work on the remaining 258 pits is underway.Among the city’s four zones, 66 rainwater pits have been desilted in Zone 1, 28 of the 47 pits in zone 2, while zone 3 has seen the slowest progress with only 24 of the 121 pits cleared. In zone 4, desilting has been completed in 32 of the 107 pits.“The desilting of rainwater harvesting systems across the city is currently underway. We are aiming to complete the cleaning of all rainwater harvesting pits by the end of June,” said Priyadeep Soni, junior engineer (horticulture), MCG.MCG has identified 155 waterlogging-prone hotspots across the city where work is currently being carried out on a priority basis ahead of the monsoon. These include 41 hyper-critical locations where water remains for more than five to six hours, 54 medium-priority sites and 60 areas classified as minor waterlogging points where water remains for an hour.The corporation has partnered with IIT Gandhinagar to address waterlogging issues and the institute has identified 200 additional locations across the city that are prone to flooding, officials said.Meanwhile, the MCG is installing 207 new rainwater harvesting pits across the city’s four zones under Phase 1 of its ongoing initiative. The project is estimated to be completed within this month.Of the 207 pits planned, 70 have been completed so far, while work on the remaining structures is in progress.Yash Jaluka, additional commissioner of MCG, said the civic body has identified parks and residential sectors requiring additional rainwater harvesting pits based on waterlogging data. “We have the data gathered in collaboration with IIT Gandhinagar, and accordingly we have identified community parks, road verges and other vulnerable areas where more rainwater harvesting pits are needed,” he said.Ajit Punia, a resident of Block A in Greenwood City, said the absence of rainwater harvesting pits has worsened waterlogging in the area during the monsoon.“Our block gets waterlogged every monsoon as rainwater accumulates with no harvesting pits in the place. We have written to MCG, and they have assured us that the matter will be taken up, but it seems too late this year,” he said.Ashwani Dabara, a resident of Sector 45, said that only two to three rainwater harvesting pits in the sector have been cleaned so far and even that work has not been carried out properly. “The cleaning is not up to the mark, and the rest of the pits still require desilting,” he said.