A group of 18 water experts, environmentalists, researchers and civil society representatives has urged the Central and Delhi governments to prioritise rejuvenation of the Yamuna and protection of its floodplain instead of pushing a Sabarmati-style riverfront development project along the 52-km stretch of the river in the capital. In a representation published by the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), the signatories warned that replicating the Ahmedabad model in Delhi would be “scientifically inappropriate” and could “threaten the river’s ecological integrity, compromise flood safety and weaken floodplain protection”.
The representation, addressed to Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Delhi ministers Pravesh Verma and Manjinder Sirsa, flagged that despite the scale of the proposed Yamuna Riverfront Development (YRFD) project, no pre-feasibility assessment, Detailed Project Report (DPR) or Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) is in the public domain to assess its potential and adverse impacts. The project reportedly covers the entire 52-km stretch in two phases — Palla to Wazirabad, and Wazirabad to Kalindi Kunj.
“It is not clear on what basis the government has decided to go for Yamuna River Front Development on the lines of Sabarmati River Front Development,” the representation states.
Two Rivers, One Model?
The experts argued that the Sabarmati is a seasonal river originating in the Aravalli range, while the Yamuna is a glacier-fed Himalayan river that becomes alluvial as it flows through the Gangetic plain. “Therefore, a riverfront model developed for the Sabarmati cannot be applied to the Yamuna without considering their fundamental hydrological, geomorphological and ecological differences,” the representation said. It further noted that the Sabarmati riverfront relies on regulated water supply from the Narmada canal, impounded by the Vasna barrage, and that diverting polluted drains downstream of the barrage — as done in Ahmedabad — is “neither advisable, nor possible” for the Yamuna because other states lie downstream of Delhi.
Flood Safety At Risk
Pointing to the exceptional floods in Delhi in 2023 and 2025, the signatories warned that the river’s flood-carrying capacity has already been reduced by silt and debris accumulation, and that the proposed riverfront development would “worsen this situation”. They noted that the floods had inundated large areas of the Delhi Development Authority’s biodiversity parks on the floodplain, and that further construction without a cumulative impact assessment could aggravate flood risks.
The representation also raised concerns over the dilution of floodplain governance, pointing out that scientific mapping and demarcation of the Yamuna floodplain is yet to be completed despite judicial directions, and that the division of the O-Zone into O-1 and O-2 under the Master Plan of Delhi 2047 raises questions about existing safeguards. It reminded the government that the National Green Tribunal, in its Mailey Se Nirmal Yamuna judgment of January 13, 2015, had already rejected a similar YRFD proposal by the DDA on grounds of its impact on the river’s flood-carrying capacity and floodplain protection.
What The Experts Want
Instead of proceeding with the riverfront project, the signatories urged the government to:
- Prioritise river rejuvenation by ensuring adequate environmental flows and notifying the NIH’s 2019 recommendation to increase lean-season flows from 10 cumecs to 23 cumecs.
- Investigate the causes of the 2023 and 2025 floods through topographic, bathymetric and cross-sectional surveys, and make the findings public.
- Complete scientific floodplain mapping and demarcation, preserve O-Zone safeguards and prevent further encroachment.
- Review all proposed works on the Yamuna against the NGT’s 2015 judgment.
· Disclose all project documents and environmental studies and ensure a meaningful public consultation process.
“Replication of a Sabarmati like riverfront development plan cannot resolve the crisis of Yamuna pollution, floodplain mismanagement and flood threats, it will only worsen the situation,” the representation concluded.
Among the signatories were Shashi Shekhar, former Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources; Dr Ravi Chopra, scientist; Soumya Dutta, climate scientist; Bhavreen Kandhari of Warrior Moms; Kavita Upadhyay, environmental researcher; Avli Verma of Manthan Adhyayan Kendra; Dr Shiv Singh Rawat, water resources expert; Diwan Singh of Natural Heritage First; Verhaen Khanna of New Delhi Nature Society; Sharda Bakshi and Sudha Mohan of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan; and Bhim Singh Rawat of SANDRP, among others.
The development comes amid heightened scrutiny of the Yamuna’s floodplain, with the Supreme Court recently seeking clarity from the Centre on its Yamuna clean-up plan and the definition of the river’s floodplain.
Comments