Explained: Why Gurugram chokes after every heavy rain while Noida keeps moving

The neighbouring cities of Noida and Gurugram show a big difference whenever heavy rains hit the National Capital Region (NCR). The Millennium City of Gurugram on Monday was once again brought to standstill after about 100 mm of rainfall.

By evening, commuters were trapped in kilometre-long traffic jams on key stretches, with many stuck for hours because of severe waterlogging. Every monsoon, Gurugram’s poor drainage and unplanned development turn even moderate showers into a nightmare.

While residents struggle with traffic chaos year after year, experts point out that the problems are rooted in the way the city was developed.

Gurugram grew under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, where large private developers like DLF acquired land parcels of varying sizes across different locations. The state government built external infrastructure, but the internal facilities created by developers were not always connected properly.

As a result, roads, drainage, and sewerage systems never formed a unified network. In fact, past reports highlight how Haryana’s policies since the 1970s allowed private players to acquire land on a large scale without uniform planning. This left behind irregular plots and roads that often ended abruptly, according to a report by The Indian Express.

Also, the city lies on the edge of the Aravalli ridge, with land sloping northwards towards the Najafgarh Jheel in West Delhi. Earlier, rainwater naturally drained along these slopes. But with haphazard construction and the disappearance of natural drainage channels, rainwater has nowhere to go. Instead, it collects on roads, making the traffic situation worse. Urban researchers also point to Gurugram’s patchy road network, which lacks a proper grid, resulting in bottlenecks and further congestion whenever waterlogging occurs.

Noida tells a different story

Noida presents a more organised picture when it rains. Instances of major waterlogging or traffic standstill are far fewer compared to Gurugram.

Noida was established in 1975, during the Emergency, when Sanjay Gandhi pushed for industries to move out of Delhi. Governed by the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA), the city was developed under the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Area Development Act, 1976, as an industrial township.

As per The Indian Express report, Noida was a planned ‘greenfield’ city, developed on entirely new, undeveloped land. Infrastructure, like roads, sewers, drain pipes, footpaths and streetlights, was laid out after the land was acquired all at once by the development authority, according to PSN Rao, Professor of Housing, School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi.

Back then, nearly 15,000 hectares of land covering 50 villages were brought under the project, and today it spans over 20,000 hectares across 81 villages. “Proper planning was done for Noida and thus, a drainage and road network proportionate to the built infrastructure was built,” explained Mukta Naik, an urban researcher.

Once the groundwork was laid, private developers came in and connected to this common infrastructure. As a result, Noida shows more resilience during heavy rains. Though not free of challenges, its planned development gives it an edge over Gurugram.