Delhi Hardlook: Along the Yamuna

In a 10-part project, the 22-km stretch along the banks of the river from Wazirabad to Okhla will be worked on by the DDA in three phases — the first is the removal of encroachments and the creation of wetlands, planting of trees and laying of walkways; the second phase involves developing the entrance area to these stretches, setting up seating spaces, and providing amenities like toilet blocks; the third phase is to develop a revenue model for the spaces including “outsourcing for adventure play” and cultural events in open air spaces.

The sanctioned cost of the project is around Rs 961.93 crore.

On the possible revenue model, Rajeev Kumar Tiwari, Principal Commissioner, Personnel, Horticulture, and Landscape, DDA, told The Indian Express: “If we are maintaining the area, it will require expenditure and it should be self-sustaining. We are looking for avenues, and we are only in the initial phase.”

At two out of 10 parts, phase 1 is complete, while the third is partially complete. The section that is complete is one between the Old Railway Bridge and the ITO barrage, called ‘Asita’, which includes the Golden Jubilee Park, and another 100-hectare section between NH-24 and the DND flyway, called ‘Kalindi Aviral’.

Water bodies have been created along these stretches which, DDA officials say, can hold floodwater. At ‘Kalindi Aviral’, a walkway leads up to the river, and three water bodies have been created, fed by the high ground water table and rain. The area around the Qudsia Ghat, including a garden, is being restored by INTACH on a pilot basis. In some sections, including the Golden Jubilee park, parts including the entrance, are paved with blocks.

On the orders of the NGT, a Principal Committee was constituted in 2017 to “examine and monitor the entire project of cleaning and rejuvenation of river Yamuna”.

A K Gosain, Professor Emeritus, IIT-Delhi, who is part of the committee that is also monitoring the DDA project, said, “The NGT order says that no permanent structures are allowed. People should be able to enjoy the natural beauty of the river, but without permanent fixtures. The river needs a huge area in case there is a big flood. In 1978, there was a huge flood and all of Model Town was flooded. If the embankments are breached again in a similar manner, there will be huge damage to life and property.”

Gosain was part of a three-member expert committee constituted in 2013 that submitted a report to the NGT in 2014 stating that the DDA’s earlier plans for the Yamuna riverfront were within the active floodplain which will reduce the area’s flood carrying capacity and that it is “untenable and should be stopped”. But these plans were tweaked on the NGT’s order in 2015.

“If something is created in the floodplains that is to be maintained every year, public money shouldn’t be spent on that. There shouldn’t be any concretisation… We have told the DDA to go ahead, but it should be in such a way that if a flood comes, there shouldn’t be any issue. Parts of the project that the committee was opposed to have been removed from the project,” Gosain said. At ‘Kalindi Aviral’, for instance, efforts were made to avoid concrete, an engineer associated with the project said.

“The project will not have any impact on the river. The floodplain will be used when the river is not used. Maybe restoring some of the wetlands might bring back the flora and fauna of the area. The aim is to provide access to the scenic points around the river, without any detrimental effect, and restoration of the ecosystem around the river is a byproduct,” Gosain added.

The total area under Zone O of the DDA, or the Yamuna floodplain, is 9,700 hectares, of which 1,146 hectares is the river channel itself, as per documents submitted by the DDA to the NGT.

Shashank Shekhar, professor at the Department of Geology, Delhi University, said, “The floodplain has its own distinct ecosystem services in terms of providing drinking water. It sustains its own biodiversity, it’s open fallow land and the lifeline of Delhi. Attempts should be made to conserve the floodplains. If you leave it like that, planners are going to eye it since it is empty land. If it is turned into a recreation spot, there is an identified land use. Any redevelopment should be with the perspective of ensuring minimal change.”

Sections of the DDA’s plans have not moved forward in places where they were met with stiff opposition. At Bela Estate close to Shantivan and the Geeta Colony flyover, Hira Lal (40) points to two water bodies that he said the DDA dug up in the area in 2020.

Repeated attempts have been made to clear the farmlands in the area after that, he said.

“We have been farming here for decades. They tell us that farming can’t be done on the floodplains, because we use contaminated water from the Yamuna, but most farmers draw ground water for farming. If we are to move, some sort of rehabilitation will have to be provided,” he said.

Cases are pending in the High Court with regard to clearing jhuggis on the floodplains.

The DDA is still attempting to clear makeshift homes on the floodplains in areas where trees are to be planted, and water bodies are to be created. Near the CWG Village, for instance, “demolition programmes” are still being carried out, as per the DDA’s status report on the project. Between the Old Railway Bridge and the ITO Barrage, there are around 695 jhuggis that the DDA intends to clear, while there are 323 jhuggis between Wazirabad Barrage and ISBT Bridge.

Manju Menon, senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, who works on environmental justice and policy, said, “It’s a very exclusionary vision for creating open recreational spaces for those who can afford it, when there are people right there for whom these spaces matter much more from a survival point of view. Co-existence should be considered and worked out with farmers.”

Efforts were made earlier to restore the existing floodplain ecosystem at Yamuna Biodiversity Park. Faiyaz Khudsar, scientist in-charge at the park, said, “The Yamuna floodplains had different forest communities like mitragyna, which is a wild kadamb, jamun, and Acacia catechu plant.”

At the Kalindi Biodiversity Park, where around 115 hectares of the floodplain ecosystem is being restored, there are wetlands, he said. The Kalindi Biodiversity Park is also part of the DDA’s floodplain restoration project and has been handed over to the Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems for work.

“For a healthy river, a healthy floodplain is necessary. The city has entered into the floodplain — with Akshardham, Metro, CWG Village, power plants. This has reduced the space that the floodplain occupied and its capacity to take away floodwater safely and rejuvenate ground water,” said Manoj Misra, convenor of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, on whose application the NGT issued an order on the restoration of the river and its floodplains in 2015.