When the rain came, it went back into the drain,' said Vij, a former army chief.

His colleague, Lt Gen J.R. Bharadwaj, added: 'Accountability needs to be fixed on civic authorities who are in charge of doing the work. Agencies like NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council) and MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) need to be made accountable.'

'It's happening year after year. The situation is worsening. Unless you hold someone responsible, things won't improve. Let me also say that only authorities are not at fault completely - we as citizens too have our share of faults.

'People are building houses on roads, covering drains. Some colonies don't have even a proper drainage system,' Bharadwaj, who is member of the NDMA, said.

Vij agreed and said it was not always right to criticise the government alone. 'They (governments) are conscious now and are doing a number of good works. Disaster management is definitely in their mind.'

He said the NDMA would soon launch a disaster management plan for urban flooding. 'In a couple of months, we will unveil that. We are mainly targeting five-six big cities where it is a huge problem.'

'It's a problem in Delhi, but in Mumbai it (urban flooding) is a bigger problem. The problem is almost similar in other metro cities. We in the NDMA believe that the plan will help government, civic agencies and public in general.

'This upcoming plan is a combination of urban best practices. We hope in future time these guidelines will help us to prepare better,' Vij added.