New Delhi
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has identified 587 hectares of Yamuna floodplains area based on the one-in-25-year flooding criteria — a location along a river that has a 4% chance of flooding in a year — and will undertake a ground survey, remove encroachments and erect bollards where required, it informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
“As of now, in the preliminary analysis, which was a tabletop exercise, the khasra layer provided by GSDL has been superimposed to identify DDA Khasras falling within the “O” Zone and the 1:25-years floodplain of the Yamuna River. Subsequently, built-up areas have been marked on the identified DDA Khasras—approximately 562 hectares in the “O” Zone and around 25 hectares in the 1:25-year floodplain of the Yamuna river,” DDA said in a progress report dated April 29.
To be sure, the NGT in March 2024 asked the Delhi government to demarcate floodplain areas based on a one-in-100-year criterion, i.e., identifying an area that has a 1% chance of flooding in a year.
The report, however, said that discrepancies were found in the 1:100 years floodplain area map shared by Geospatial Delhi Limited (GSDL). “As per the discrepancies…..in certain areas the boundary of 1:25 years’ floodplain was exceeding that of the 1:100 years’ floodplain. Accordingly, it was decided that the issue be brought to the knowledge of GSDL, so as to rectify the same and submit the corrected map to DDA with clear boundary of 1:100 years’ floodplains,” DDA said.
In October 2024, NGT took suo motu cognisance of a media report and formed a joint committee headed by the Delhi chief secretary to identify, demarcate and notify the floodplains of the Yamuna on the lines of the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016. It said that the delineation of Yamuna was required to prevent illegal developments on floodplains.
In its latest progress report, the DDA said it was continuously making efforts to secure the floodplains and has replaced 106 missing and 137 damaged bollards in the 1:25 floodplain area.
“That DDA is continuously engaged in removal of encroachment from Yamuna floodplains. During encroachment removal, it sometimes becomes tough to protect/fence the area just after the demolition drive is carried out. Thereby, re-encroachment happens at some places which is again removed,” the report said.
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