The uniform planning of towns and cities suggests the presence of efficient municipal governments which placed a high priority on hygiene. The streets of Harappan cities such as Mohenjo-daro or Harappa were laid out in an efficient grid pattern, which ensured that houses were protected from noise, odors and thieves. In addition, houses were safeguarded against floods by platforms, and, as an additional measure of precaution against inundation, rectangular salients or bastions were added to the peripheral brick walls of the towns, Lothal for example, in order to divert the current. Baked bricks, which were rare at this time in the Near East, were used by the Harappans to construct wells, building platforms and drains that provided the cities of the Indus Empire with excellent drainage for rainwater and sewage. Most Harappan towns had adopted the standard Indus gridiron planning, including smaller towns such as Rangpur and Surkotada.
Systematic drainage is the exception rather than the rule.
Regardless, the uniformity of town planning throughout the Indus Empire indicates that a strong centralized government must have functioned to standardize urban planning. An efficient Harappan administration had many functions in the ancient Indus Valley civilization. There is evidence that town administrators enlisted the cooperation of the people in order to efficiently execute public works. The Harappans were highly disciplined people who were very conscious of their civic duties. The citizens kept their cities clean, and also had various other responsibilities.