The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday took suo motu cognizance of severe waterlogging in Prayagraj and directed senior district and State authorities to explain the failure to take timely measures to prevent the city's low-lying areas from getting waterlogged amid incessant rain.

The Court has directed the District Magistrate, Prayagraj, and Municipal Commissioner, Prayagraj, to appear before it and explain why measures were not taken in advance to ensure that the city, particularly its low-lying areas, did not get waterlogged.

The Court has also directed the Secretary, Urban Development and Planning, UP Government, to file a personal affidavit explaining the plans approved to prevent waterlogging caused by incessant rain.

The directions came in two related suo motu proceedings concerning waterlogging and civic failures in Prayagraj, as reports of severe waterlogging across several parts of the city made headlines.

'In re: city waterlogged due to incessant rain…'

A Bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Garima Prashad dealt with the suo motu matter, noting that the city was "waterlogged due to incessant rain" and this caused difficulties for Judges in reaching the Court and also resulted in delayed Court sittings.

The Bench sought an explanation from the District Magistrate and Municipal Commissioner, Prayagraj, as to "why measures were not takeni n advance to ensure that the city, particularly the low lying areas, do not get waterlogged".

The Secretary, Urban Development and Planning, was also directed to explain, through a personal affidavit, which plans were approved to ensure that the city does not face a similar issue in the future.

The Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh and an Additional Advocate General have also been directed to assist the Court on the next date. The matter has been listed for August 20, 2026.

Suo motu proceedings on drainage master plan, civic failures

In related suo motu proceedings regarding the same issue, Justice Siddharth Nandan took cognizance of the non-implementation of the policy under the Government Order dated December 20, 2024, for preparation of a 'Drainage Master Plan', as well as the alleged failure of civic amenities in Prayagraj.

This was after a number of Advocates of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association, including Senior Advocates Prabhakar Awasthi and Amrendra Nath Singh, made a mention before Justice Nandan at 10 AM regarding the prevailing circumstances in Prayagraj.

The Court was informed that several parts of the city, including George Town, Tagore Town, Allahpur, Alopibagh, Bairahna, Rambagh and Preetam Nagar, were severely affected by waterlogging. It was stated that residents were virtually under "home arrest" and unable to come onto the roads.

The Court was further informed that advocates were unable to appear before it because they could not leave their homes and their clerks were also unable to reach advocates' offices to bring case files to Court.

An incident was also brought to the Court's notice in which a clerk carrying case files allegedly fell from his bicycle into potholes and waterlogging, resulting in most of the files being damaged by the water.

Taking note of the submissions made before it, the Court observed thus:

"This Court finds that it is a serious matter and in case the Advocates and their Clerks are prevented from coming to the Court and the records of the case files are being destroyed, it directly affects the Administration of Justice".

The Court was also informed that waterlogging was affecting access to the Photo Affidavit Center of the High Court, Allahabad, preventing litigants and advocates from reaching the facility and causing difficulties in filing urgent matters.

The Court observed that this also indicated a failure of civic authorities resulting in interference with the administration of justice.

The Court was informed that the problem was not confined to rainwater and also involved the sewage system.

According to the submissions recorded in the order, sewage water (not rainwater) had entered the homes of around 3,000-4,000 residents in George Town and Tagore Town of the city.

"...it can be visualized that in case the sewage water is filled up in the house of the residents, it is highly unhygienic and may lead to severe catastrophic in the form of various diseases being spread," the Court noted.

The Court was also informed that projects intended to address the waterlogging problem in Prayagraj had been stalled at the Government level due to a lack of approval and sanctions.

It was further submitted that a proposal for developing a "catchment area" over the Green Belt on M.G. Marg had been approved at the departmental level but was pending before the Chief Secretary. The Court was also informed that funding for the project had not been released.

The Court was also apprised of an alleged encroachment on a pond that had previously served as a catchment area, located at the junction of Jawaharlal Nehru Road and C.Y. Chintamani Road.

The submissions alleged that a petrol pump was operating on the encroached area and that further encroachments had developed behind it. It was also alleged that the Nagar Nigam had encroached upon the area that was initially a pond.

The Court was informed that a CBI inquiry had earlier been directed in the matter and that, after submission of the charge-sheet, some encroachers had been convicted and imprisoned. Despite this, it was submitted that neither the Municipal nor the Development Authority was taking any action.

In view of these circumstances, Justice Nandan took suo motu cognizance and directed the Registry to register a PIL on this issue.

The matter was directed to be placed before the Chief Justice, or the Senior Judge in his absence, for nomination of a Bench and urgent hearing.