Urgent appeal over rampant encroachment of Yamuna floodplain near Delhi's Wazirabad barrage

By A Representative

The South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has issued a scathing letter to top Delhi officials, including Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, highlighting "persistent abuse and encroachment" of the Yamuna floodplain on the eastern bank downstream of the Wazirabad Barrage. The letter, dated July 17, 2025, from Bhim Singh Rawat, Associate Coordinator of SANDRP, details extensive violations observed during a ground visit on July 15, 2025, and calls for immediate corrective action.

Rawat's letter, also addressed to the Vice-Chairman of DDA, the Minister for Irrigation & Flood Control, the Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, and the Member Secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board, paints a grim picture of environmental degradation and disregard for regulations in a crucial ecological zone.

Key Concerns Raised in the Letter

- A new, approximately 5 km long and 6-meter-wide road has been constructed and recently paved with bitumen, effectively disconnecting the floodplain along its alignment. This road, which runs from Wazirabad crematoria to the Eastern Embankment near Usmanpur village, was reportedly built for Metro and Signature Bridge access. SANDRP argues its purpose has been served and it should be dismantled, with the land restored.

- A Metro casting yard, occupying over 13 acres of Yamuna floodplain for several years, is still in place. The letter demands its removal and the restoration of the land, currently covered in thick concrete and debris, back to native floodplain vegetation.

- Approximately 50 acres of low-lying floodplain opposite Kartar Nagar have been gradually reclaimed by extensive soil dumping, transforming it into a parking and crowd gathering site. Recent Google Earth imagery suggests an additional 20 acres have been covered, threatening a nearby water body.

- Construction waste is being illegally dumped and even concretized along the Wazirabad Road before it meets the Eastern Embankment at Khajuri Chowk. Furthermore, significant amounts of construction debris remain beneath the Metro bridge, extending to the riverbank, with the construction company allegedly evading responsibility for site restoration.

- A large silt dump on the western bank, where the Najafgarh drain meets the Yamuna, needs urgent removal before the flood season. Locals also report the river section under the Signature Bridge is easily crossable due to construction debris, warranting immediate investigation.

- An unused deep, narrow dredged channel created last year is causing riverbank erosion and poses a drowning risk, especially to children, when water levels rise.

- The riverbank and floodplain are littered with plastic waste, construction debris, concrete, and tar, indicating a complete lack of waste management and monitoring. In addition, the Nanaksar Gurudwara has allegedly created permanent structures by raising and leveling about 14 acres of floodplain land with massive soil dumping, with plans for further expansion seemingly overlooked by authorities.

- Finally, untreated effluent continues to be discharged into the river through two metal pipes downstream of Wazirabad, a recurring issue that remains unaddressed. The letter also points out that the July 2023 floods washed away "avoidable experiments" like plantations and artificial fish ponds downstream of Wazirabad barrage, leading to a wastage of public funds.

Violations and Environmental Impact

Rawat emphasized that these activities violate numerous National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders and government regulations, reflecting a "concerning and disappointing state of affairs of floodplain protection in the national capital." He highlighted that the eastern floodplain, being lower, is vital for flood cushioning and groundwater recharge, and its continued abuse is destroying these critical functions.

Given the existing reduction in the floodplain's flood-carrying capacity due to linear and cross-sectional infrastructure projects, SANDRP urges immediate corrective and preventive actions to protect the remaining floodplain for the well-being of the Yamuna River, the environment, and the citizens of Delhi.

The letter concludes with a humble appeal to the concerned authorities to address the serious issues raised.

Comments

The silencing of conscience: Ideological attacks on India’s judiciary and free thought

By Sunil Kumar* “Volunteers will pick up sticks to remove every obstacle that comes in the way of Sanatan and saints’ work.” — RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat (November 6, 2024, Chitrakoot) Eleven months later, on October 6, 2025, a man who threw a shoe inside the Supreme Court shouted, “India will not tolerate insults to Sanatan.” This incident was not an isolated act but a continuation of a pattern seen over the past decade—attacks on intellectuals, writers, activists, and journalists, sometimes in the name of institutions, sometimes by individual actors or organizations.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Citizens’ group to recall Justice Chagla’s alarm as India faces ‘undeclared' Emergency

By A Representative In a move likely to raise eyebrows among the powers-that-be, a voluntary organisation founded during the “dark days” of the Indira Gandhi -imposed Emergency has announced that it will hold a public conference in Ahmedabad to highlight what its office-bearers call today’s “undeclared Emergency.”

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

World Bank arm accused of hiding crucial report on Gujarat’s Tata Mundra power project

By A Representative The Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has accused the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the accountability arm of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), of concealing crucial evidence related to the Tata Mundra coal power project in Gujarat during the period when the case was being heard in U.S. courts. In a press statement released on October 10, 2025, CFA said that the CAO’s final monitoring report, which was completed in 2019 but released only in September 2025, revealed that IFC had failed to take remedial action for years, even as environmental and livelihood harms to local communities worsened.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Search This Blog