India

Delhi’s Proposed 52‑km Yamuna Riverfront Faces Flood‑Risk Concerns

By Paras Singh

A coalition of environmentalists, former water ministry officials, researchers and citizen groups has warned that a 52‑kilometre Yamuna riverfront project in Delhi, modeled after Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati riverfront, could increase flood risks. The letter, signed by 18 individuals including former water resources secretary Shashi Shekhar, scientist Ravi Chopra and members of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) and the New Delhi Nature Society, was addressed to Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. The signatories argue that the Sabarmati is a seasonal river sustained by regulated water from the Narmada canal system and the Vasna barrage, whereas the Yamuna is a glacier‑fed Himalayan river that carries substantial silt and experiences seasonal flow variations. They note that most polluting drains have been diverted from the Sabarmati riverfront, an arrangement that cannot be replicated on the Yamuna, which flows through several states downstream of Delhi. The letter warns that further construction on the Yamuna floodplain could compromise the river’s flood‑carrying capacity, especially after the floods of 2023 and 2025. It cites accumulated silt, encroachments and existing infrastructure such as bridges, roads and barrages that have already reduced the river’s cross‑sectional area, making it vulnerable to flooding at lower flows. The coalition also references the National Green Tribunal’s January 2015 Mailey Se Nirmal Yamuna judgment, which rejected an earlier Delhi Development Authority riverfront proposal over concerns about flood‑carrying capacity and floodplain protection. The signatories have requested public disclosure of the project’s pre‑feasibility report, detailed project report, cost estimates and environmental assessments, and urge the government to prioritise restoring environmental flows, reducing pollution and completing scientific demarcation of the floodplain. They call on the Central Government ministries and the Government of Delhi to ensure that no project compromises the integrity of the Yamuna River, its floodplain and the long‑term flood security of the national capital, and to direct public resources toward addressing the causes of the river’s degradation and flood risks rather than undertaking large‑scale riverfront development plans.