NGT orders Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad district magistrates to appear in person for not demarcating Yamuna, Hindon floodplains

After going through the report filed by the district administrations dated on October 31, last year, the NGT said that the exercise has not been carried out in reference to the 2016 notification.

“The report simply states that the area between bund and river is a flood plain zone which is identified and demarcated. No such demarcation report in terms of the order of 2016 was on record,” said the bench of members Sudhir Agarwal and Dr A Senthil Vel on Tuesday.

While hearing a petition on unauthorised constructions, the tribunal on July 27, 2023, had directed the district magistrates to ensure the identification and demarcation of flood plain zone of Yamuna and Hindon rivers as per a 2016 notification.

The tribunal had then asked them to submit a report within two months adhering to the notification dated on October 7, 2016 on ‘River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016’ and Office Memorandum dated on February 14, 2022 on ‘Guidelines for siting industries which are in close proximity with the river’ and submit a report within two months.

The matter was taken up again on November 2, 2023 when the counsel for Uttar Pradesh government submitted that the exercise of demarcation of flood plain zone for the districts will be completed within two months. The NGT granted two months’ time to the district magistrates of Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad to complete the exercise and submit the report.

The Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate, on January 9 this year, filed a status report stating that National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee was contacted to determine the submergence area of the rivers and they have informed that six months’ time will be required to carry out a study for Yamuna River, and nine months for study in Hindon River.

“We find that for the purpose of demarcation of flood plain zone under River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016, the responsibility lies at the district level with the district magistrate who is in-charge of District Ganga Committee and relying on earlier statement given by learned counsel for State of UP where it was shown that demarcation will be completed within two months’, the time was granted. But today, a totally unjust request has been made. No report has been filed by the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad,” said the Bench.