No zone: Plans to build on Yamuna banks scuttled (Times of India 18 March 2010)

NEW DELHI: Finally, some relief seems to be coming the way of the gasping Yamuna. The Union urban development ministry has approved the DDA's plan for the river — better known as 'O' Zone plan. Within a month, the DDA is expected to notify it, thus banning any new permanent structures on the river's flood plains.
With this, a lingering, and often acrimonious, debate on the use of Yamuna's dry bed will come to an end. It will also bring to an end plans to build stadiums, cultural centres, and various other commercial buildings on the river's sprawling floodplains. And finally, this will bring down the curtains on the proposal to build concrete embankments along the Yamuna's banks.
The 'O' Zone plan was approved by the urban development ministry on March 8. Sources in DDA confirmed that the approval has been received and now the necessary work was being done to notify it, so that it becomes part of the Delhi Master Plan.
Encroachments on the flood plains have been rampant. But these were mostly jhuggi-jhopris that could be evicted. The balance tilted in favour of encroachers when the Akshardham temple was allowed to come up on the flood plains, initially without approval. Taking that as a precedent, the Commonwealth Games Village was constructed.
Four years ago, DDA came up with a draft zonal plan for the Yamuna. And it stunned ecologists by proposing stadia, residential and commercial buildings as well as recreational areas like museums on the river bed.

New plan focuses on groundwater recharge
In the face of protests after DDA's draft zonal plan proposed stadia, residential and commercial buildings as well as recreational areas like museums on the river bed, on the river bed, the Authority had to finally prepare a zonal plan that's tempered and aimed at maintaining the eco-system of the river.
The new zonal plan contains measures to augment water supply, curb pollution and ensure land utilisation that will allow the use of the floodplains for groundwater recharge. The earlier 2006 plan had proposed land use of 175 hectares for sports facilities south of NH-24, a cultural complex south of Vikas Marg, and another 54 hectares north of the Vikas Marg for building structures for recreational use.
All this will now go. Instead, these areas will be used for making walk-ways, parks, and some temporary structures for recreational activities and "greening activities", which means tree plantation, bio-diversity parks and so on. Another large chunk of land measuring about 325 hectares south of the proposed Signature Bridge at Wazirabad has also been earmarked for similar purposes.
The 'O' Zone includes the river, water bodies and the floodplains. According to DDA officials, less than 1% of the zone area will now be under commercial use, which includes the existing Information Technology Park spread over 6 hectares, a bottling plant on 28 hectares at Madanpur Khadar and the site for Akshardham Temple and the Commonwealth Games Village.
The congested Yamuna Bazaar area, south of Nigambodh Ghat, where there were plans to first build a hospital and later to make godowns for LPG cylinders, is now likely to be redeveloped in tune with the larger 'O' Zone philosophy, said sources.
Also, the pontoon bridge will now be converted into a 30-metre road, while the Signature Bridge will come up to connect NH-2 with the Marginal Bund road south of Wazirabad road.