NGT has directed the Delhi government to convene a joint meeting within a week to resolve the impasse between DDA and Irrigation Department on demarcation of Yamuna floodplain. The demarcation work is stalled due to the revised map.
New Delhi [भारत]July 20 (ANI): The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Principal Secretary (Environment), Delhi government, to convene a joint meeting of officials of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department within a week to resolve the impasse over the physical demarcation of the Yamuna floodplain in Delhi.
A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Srivastava and expert member Dr Afroz Ahmed gave the direction while hearing two cases initiated on the basis of newspaper reports related to floods in Delhi and pending demarcation of the Yamuna floodplain.
The tribunal has also directed the DDA to file another progress report at least a week before the next hearing. It has also asked the I&FC department to file an affidavit explaining the matter within the same time-frame. The next hearing of the case will be on September 18, 2026.
Why did the demarcation work stop?
During the hearing, the DDA told the tribunal that it has filed a progress report, stating that it has received a revised floodplain map from the I&FC department through an email dated June 6, 2026.
According to DDA, Geo Special Delhi Limited had earlier prepared a GIS-based draft map using one-metre contour data and 1:100-year flood map provided by the Survey of India for demarcation of the 22-km Yamuna stretch between Wazirabad Barrage and Okhla Barrage.
The DDA said it had started implementing the tribunal’s earlier directions based on the original map and started installing boundary bollards. Of the 277 proposed bollards, 206 had already been installed before the revised map was received.
He told that after this the work was stopped, because to work on the revised map, the already installed bollards may have to be removed and reinstalled.
NGT issued strict instructions
The tribunal said the floodplain is required to be demarcated under the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Conservation and Management) Authority Order, 2016, which prescribes certain parameters, including a one-metre contour and 1:100-year flood level.
It said that if the demarcation work based on these parameters had already started, the I&FC department would have to explain why it issued a revised map midway through the process.
Noting that the entire demarcation work has come to a standstill due to the revised letter, the tribunal directed the Environment Secretary to coordinate between the DDA and the I&FC department and resolve the issue so that the work can proceed. (ANI)
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