Last chance to DDA to stop encroachment on Yamuna floodplains
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has given a last chance to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Uttar Pradesh government to table their policies for stopping encroachments in floodplains of Yamuna and Hindon rivers. The tribunal has given three weeks time to submit their reports in this regard.
The DDA has not been following the orders given by the NGT from quite a long time, regarding putting an end to the encroachment of the floodplain areas.
DDA ignores NGT’s orders
The DDA has been allowing construction of few concrete structures and other activities in the floodplains despite after getting repeated orders from the green tribunal.
Earlier, the NGT had issued notices to various departments of the Centre, the state governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana over a petition. As per the petition, the floodplains of the Yamuna and Hindon rivers have been encroached and permanent concrete structures have been developed in that place.
A bus depot set up in floodplains
The DDA had allowed the transport authorities to set up a Delhi Transport Corporation bus depot way back in 2010, when Commonwealth games were held in the nation’s capital. The DDA had no rights to allow the bus depot to be set up there since the land is a national property. But the DDA had not objected to the structure, which was meant to be a temporary one.
The bus depot is spread across 61 acres of Yamuna floodplains and at present it has a capacity to hold 1,000 buses.
Between December 2012 to September 2013, the union urban development ministry would have requested the Delhi Transport Corporation at least four times to return the land on which the bus depot was built. The DDA, instead of giving back the land, tried to change the land use from ‘river and water body’ to ‘transportation’. However, the ministry denied to change the land use and asked to return the land.
O zone in Delhi Master Plan
When the green tribunal told the DDA to know the definition of floodplains, the DDA said that it has a special zone ‘O’ for the land covering riverfront, riverbed and floodplain. However, the civic authority said that there are few exceptions for structures like the DTC bus depot. But still, the NGT was not convinced with the DDA’s decision.
Tribunal ordered to demolish all illegal structures
On May 20 this year, the NGT had directed the concerned authorities to demolish all the illegal and unauthorised structures developed on the riverbed and flood plains of Yamuna in Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Besides this, the tribunal had ordered to remove all such constructions from the banks of Hindon river as well.
A bench of NGT took serious note of allegations regarding the encroachments of the floodplains with concrete and permanent structures that are likely to cause ecological havoc in the form of floods, etc. The bench also directed to take action against the defaulters. It had directed the ministry of environment and forest, ministry of water resources, governments of Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, UP irrigation department and UP Police to submit a report on the action taken.
UP-based water conservationist Akash Vashishtha had filed a petition that farmhouses, colonies and commercial structures on the riverbed caused damage to the environment and were in violation of the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
The NGT, on July 17, had sought the authorities to give an explanation on the law based on which they had notified floodplain areas. It had also asked them under which law was the construction permitted on that land.
On September 24, the green tribunal had warned authorities in Delhi, UP and Haryana that their senior officials should come with clear proofs to show whether or not any construction was permitted on the floodplains of the Yamuna and the Hindon. It had also directed that in case they fail to do so, they will have to appear before the court. But till date, neither the DDA nor the state governments seem to have considered the tribunal’s warning seriously.
