Aerial viewNajafgarh Drain flowing through Kakrola Bridge nearDwarka Sector 16.
TheNajafgarh drain orNajafgarh nalah, which also acts asNajafgarh drain bird sanctuary, is another name for the northernmost end ofRiver Sahibi, which continues its flow throughDelhi, where it is channelized, and then flows into theYamuna. Within Delhi, due to its channelization forflood control purposes, it is now erroneously called "Najafgarh drain", and gets this name from the once famous and hugeNajafgarh Jheel (lake) near the town ofNajafgarh in southwest Delhi and within urbanized Delhi.[1][2][3][4][5]
Within theNational Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), this channelized waterway misclassified and misnamed as the Najafgarh drain or nullah (nalah in Hindi means rivulet or storm water drain) is the continuation of the Sahibi River and an elongation of the Najafgarh Lake.[6]
During the 1960s and before, the rain-fed Sahibi River, which originates in theJaipur District ofRajasthan, passing throughAlwar District in Rajasthan andGurgaon District inHaryana, entered Delhi nearDhansa and spilled its overflow in theNajafgarh Lake basin. This overflow created a seasonal lake; an area of more than 300 square kilometres (120 sq mi) was submerged in some seasons. This water then continued to flow on the other side, forming atributary of theRiver Yamuna. In the following decades, this Sahibi River flow reaching the Dhansa regulators was channelized by digging out a wide drain and connecting it directly to the River Yamuna. This channelization also drained off the seasonal Najafgarh Jheel that had formed there previously. The channelized drain from Dhansa regulators to Keshopur Bus Depot on Outer Ring Road is wide with thick and high embankments. A vast amount of water is retained in this widened drain by closing the Kakrola regulators under Najafgarh Road to recharge the local ground watertable; hence it acts like an elongated lake as well.[6] The drain has been much widened over the years to drain all the water which in earlier decades used to collect in the Nagafgarh Jheel basin; this was supposedly done to remove the threat of flooding in Delhi.[7][8] Before the draining of this lake in the 1960s by widening of the Najafgarh drain by the Flood control and irrigation department of Delhi the lake in many years filled up a depression more than 300 square kilometres (120 sq mi) in rural Delhi, It had an extremely rich wetland ecosystem forming a refuge for vast quantities of waterbirds and local wildlife. The lake was one of the last habitats of the famed and endangered Siberian Crane which has all but vanished from the Indian subcontinent now. Till before independence many British colonial Officers and dignitaries came in large parties for waterfowl hunting every season.[9][10][11]
The 51 km-long Najafgarh drain starts at Dhansa and joins the Yamuna river near Wazirabad.[12][13][14] Najafgarh Drain is canalized after Bharat Nagar up to confluence to River Yamuna at DownstreamWazirabad Barrage.[15]
The wide and deep drain acts as an elongated lake maintaining water-level even during the summer months, leading to recharging of groundwater table,[16][17] and the drain's elongated water body with trees planted on both its embankments acts as a wildlife and bird sanctuary which during the winter months attracts vast numbers of migratory birds and also supports local wildlife year-round.[18][19][20]
The Najafgarh drain has been much widened over the past decades and now has thick mud embankments on both its sides to channel the waters and protect Delhi from floods, these embankments have been planted with thick forest cover which serve as a much needed habitat for remnant local wildlife occurring in nearby and surrounding farmlands including common foxes, jackals, hares, wild cats, nilgai, porcupines and various reptiles and snakes including the dreaded cobras. Many local birds including waterbirds roost and nest in these trees.
Sections of the forested embankments of Najafgarh drain are currently classified as and are featured inProtected Forests and Recorded Forests (Notified Forest Areas in Delhi) as "M. P. Green area Najafgarh Drain (Tagore garden)", "Afforestation M.P.Green Area Najafgarh Drain (DDA)" and "Chhawla or Najafgarh drain city forest (29.64 Acre)".[21][22][23][24][25]
In May 2025, Delhi government announced construction of a 60.77 km long 2-lane major highway along the left bank of Najafgarh drain, including 5.94 km long Jhatikra-Chhawla in south and 54.83 km long Chhawla-Basai Dara Pur Bridge in north, connectingDwarka Expressway,Urban Extension Road-II,Outer Ring Road,Inner Ring Road, Pankha Road, etc.[26] The existing drivable minor inspection road maintained by Irrigation and Flood Control Department of Delhi on drain's embankment, from Dhansa regulators at the southwest border of Delhi with the state of Haryana to where the drain crosses under the Outer Ring Road, will be upgraded to 2-lane highway.
Irrigation and Flood Control Department of the Delhi Government, de-silted the drain to increase its storage capacity. Regulators atKakraula and Dhansa retain the water. Presently the brackish water is improving with dilution. By retaining the water in the drain, theaquifers andgroundwater table have been recharged and there is more water now for irrigation, enabling farmers 6 kilometres away from the drain to grow crops. Tube wells in the area have been discharging water copiously and in two years the water table is up by a meter.[12][13][14]
URBAN FLOODING AND ITS MANAGEMENT, 2006. India Disaster Management Congress.IIPA Campus, IP Estate, Near ITO Road, New Delhi. National Institute of Disaster Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
