The Najafgarh drain or Najafgarh nalah, which also acts as Najafgarh drain bird sanctuary, is another name for the northernmost end of River Sahibi, which continues its flow through Delhi, where it is channelized, and then flows into the Yamuna. Within Delhi, due to its channelization for flood control purposes, it is now erroneously called "Najafgarh drain", and gets this name from the once famous and huge Najafgarh Jheel (lake) near the town of Najafgarh in southwest Delhi and within urbanized Delhi.Blot across the Capital: Najafgarh most polluted, Sunday, 10 July 2005, The Indian ExpressEnvironment minister raises a stink over Najafgarh jheel, 22 February 2005, The Indian ExpressNajafgarh basin Delhi’s most polluted area, 25 December 2009, The Indian ExpressNajafgarh drain 11th among highly polluted industrial clusters, 25 December 2009, The Times of IndiaNajafgarh drain causes less pollution in Yamuna now , 4 July 2006, The Indian Express
Background
Etymology
Within the National 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.
History
During the 1960s and before, the rain-fed Sahibi River, which originates in the Jaipur District of Rajasthan, passing through Alwar District in Rajasthan and Gurgaon District in Haryana, entered Delhi near Dhansa and spilled its overflow in the Najafgarh Lake basin. This overflow created a seasonal lake; an area of more than was submerged in some seasons. This water then continued to flow on the other side, forming a tributary of the River 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.Flood Problem due to Sahibi River, Department of Irrigation and Flood Control, Government of NCT of Delhi, India. Website Last Updated : 3 May 2010, A sewage drain is now called the Yamuna, By Sonu Jain, 27 March 1999, Indian Express, CRUSADE: Killing Delhi’s Lifeline , Charu Soni, 19 August 2006, New Delhi. Tehelka, Riversutra gone all wrong, By Sunita Narain, 5 June 2012, Times of India, ‘Better management in Haryana may solve Delhi’s water problems’, New Delhi, 22 March 2012, DHNS, Deccan herald, Sunita Narain bats for sustainable development, Express News Service : Pune, Tue 28 February 2012, The Indian Express 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.Flood Problem due to Sahibi River, Department of Irrigation and Flood Control, Government of NCT of Delhi, India.URBAN FLOODING AND ITS MANAGEMENT , 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 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.Najafgarh marsh: "The (Najafgarh) marsh was a favored duck-shoot ground of the British, but was eventually drained out into the Najafgarh Nallah." Strategy Framework for Delhi beyond the Commonwealth Games 2010 , BY DANNY CHERIAN, 2004[A Guide to the Birds of the Delhi Area (1975) by Usha Ganguli, a member of the Delhi Birdwatching Society.][Birdwatching Articles from 1961-70 from Najafgarh lake by Usha Ganguli in "Newsletter for Birdwatchers" edited by Zafar Futehally]
Hydrology
Course
The 51 km-long Najafgarh drain starts at Dhansa and joins the Yamuna river near Wazirabad. Najafgarh Drain is canalized after Bharat Nagar up to confluence to River Yamuna at Downstream Wazirabad Barrage.Bio-Monitoring of Wetlands in Wild Life Habitats of Birds Sanctuaries in India – Case Studies Ands, Part-1 Bird sanctuaries, `PARIVESH', July 2003, Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment and Forests of India , , , , . Retrieved 3 May 2011
Wetland bird sanctuary
The wide and deep drain acts as an elongated lake maintaining water-level even during the summer months, leading to recharging of ground water table,Groundwater to be recharged at Najafgarh, Mungeshwar drains, by Teena Thacker, New Delhi, 9 March 2007. Archived copy Internet Archive accessed on 4 October 2012[Delhi tightens belt to cope with drought], PTI, 2 August 2002, The Times of India and the drain's elongated water body with trees planted on both its embankments acts as a wildlife and bird sanctuary which attracts vast numbers of migratory birds during the winter months and supports local wildlife year-round.DTTDC to develop bird sanctuary near Najafgarh , 12 January 2003, The Indian ExpressMigratory birds are giving Delhi the go-by, 17 January 2010, The HinduNajafgarh jheel may chirp again, 20 August 2006, The Indian Express
Infrastructure
Forested embankments
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 waterfowl roost and nest in these trees.
Sections of the forested embankments of Najafgarh drain are currently classified as and are featured in Protected 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)".Plantation/Greening of Delhi , Department of Environment, Government of NCT of Delhi, India website, RECORDED FORESTS (NOTIFIED FOREST AREAS IN DELHI), Forest Department, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India, "Bird sanctuary proposed in Najafgarh" – PROTECTED AREA UPDATE, No. 39 October 2002, Kalpavriksh Another city forest opened – Delhi will soon have 32 of them, says Sheila, New Delhi, 29 Jun 2008, The Hindu Newspaper
Embankment highway
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, connecting Dwarka Expressway, Urban Extension Road-II, Outer Ring Road, Inner Ring Road, Pankha Road, etc.60 km long road along Najafgarh drain, TOI, 19 May 2025. 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.
Conservation
Irrigation and Flood Control Department of the Delhi Government, de-silted the drain to increase its storage capacity. Regulators at Kakraula and Dhansa retain the water. Presently the brackish water is improving with dilution. By retaining the water in the drain, the aquifers and groundwater 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.Don't cloud the issue – USHA RAI looks at some success stories in rainwater harvesting that should convince those of us who are still sceptical, 22 Dec 2002, The HinduProposal for Ground Water Recharge in National Capital Region (NCR) Dr S.K. Sharma Ground Water Expert , Groundwater to be recharged at Najafgarh, Mungeshwar drains , 10 March 2007, The Indian Express
In January 2026, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department commissioned a Finnish-sourced amphibious multipurpose dredger, the Watermaster, along with three self-propelled hopper barges to desilt the drain and remove sludge, silt and aquatic weeds, with the drain estimated to account for nearly 70% of the total pollution load entering the Yamuna. Officials described the deployment as part of a broader shift toward technology-driven, large-scale, sustained action intended to improve water flow, enhance Delhi’s flood resilience and reduce pollution before it reaches the Yamuna.
See also Najafgarh drain bird sanctuary Najafgarh lake (Najafgarh jheel), nearby lake Najafgarh, town in Delhi National Zoological Park Delhi Sultanpur National Park, bordering Delhi in adjoining Gurgaon District, Haryana Okhla Sanctuary, bordering Delhi in adjoining Uttar Pradesh Bhalswa horseshoe lake, Northwest, Delhi
References
Further reading DRAFT MAP ZONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN PLANNING ZONE- 'L'. SEWAGE PROJECTS to Prevent Untreated Sewage, 29 August 2011, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Press Information Bureau, India Flood Problem due to Sahibi River, Department of Irrigation and Flood Control, Government of NCT of Delhi, India. WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT IN NAJAFGARH DRAINAGE BASIN – KEY TO WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN RIVER YAMUNA, by Asit Nema of Foundation for Greentech Environmental Systems1 and Dr. Lalit Agrawal of Tokyo Engineering Consultants, Japan2 FLOOD CONTROL – The National Capital Territory of Delhi ‘Part of Najafgarh drain to be covered’, 12 September 2009, The Hindu , ‘Reviving old ponds way out of water woes’, 9 August 2003, The Indian Express Action plans on polluted areas in Delhi soon, GN BUREAU, NEW DELHI, 17 March 2010, Governance Now Proposal for ground water recharge in National Capital Region (NCR) by Dr. S. K. Sharma, Ground water expert, , , Delhi's Watery Woes by Arun Kumar Singh Birds are back at Najafgarh Jheel, 19 August 2010, Delhi Edition, Hindustan Times No more water-logging at airport with new drain in place, New Delhi, 17 December 2009, The Hindu , New Delhi, 29 December 2006, Hindustan Times Groundwater to be recharged at Najafgarh, Mungeshwar drains, 10 March 2007, The Indian Express Gurgaon polluting Najafgarh drain, draws Minister's ire, by Rajesh Kumar, New Delhi, 27 July 2006, The Pioneer Winged visitors are back at Najafgarh Lake, New Delhi, 3 November 2011, Hindustan Times. Also see CHAPTER J.- DESCRIPTIVE· pages from the Gazeteers, Delhi, 1912 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 ACTION PLAN, ABATEMENT OF POLLUTION IN CRITICALLY POLLUTED AREA OF NAJAFGARH DRAN BASIN INCLUDING OKHLA, NARAINA, ANAND PARBAT AND WAZIRPUR INDL AREAS, DELHI POLLUTION CONTROL COMMITTEE, 4th Floor, ISBT Building, Kashmere Gate, Delhi-6, March, 2011 BLUE DELHI DECLARATION, White Paper on: Aiming for Sustainability and Self Sufficiency in Delhi Water Management – Evaluating Delhi’s Current Water Assets vis a vis their Utilisation