L-G's intervention sought over ‘neglect' of Yamuna (THe Hindu 30 January 2011)

Non government organisation Yamuna Jiye Abiyan has alleged that the Delhi Development Authority has “neglected” the Yamuna and its flood plains and by allowing the change of land use over the years it has been party to the declining floodplains in the city.
In a letter to Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna, YJA has complained that the DDA, the premier land owning and planning body in the city, has been going against the interests of the river and the river bed.
The YJA's letter comes in the wake of reports that the Delhi Transport Corporation wants the DDA to permit the change of land use of the area of the flood plains where a temporary bus shelter now stands. The bus shelter was constructed for the duration of the Commonwealth Games and has become a sore point for the environmentalists, who are trying to safeguard the floodplains from concretisation.
“There were major floods in the river in September 1988 covering the entire available flood plains in the city. And instead of learning from it, the DDA in 1989 declared the flood plain between Wazirabad Barrage and Okhla Barrage as ‘Development Area' under section 12(1) of the DDA Act, 1957. Again major floods in the river struck the city in September 1995, when the entire east Delhi area was in imminent risk of being flooded. The DDA then allotted land in the river bed to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for its depot and commercial property development in the narrowest part of the river in Shastri Park….,” said YJA convenor Maonj Misra. .
Mr. Misra rued that instead of clamping a ban on any construction on and near the floodplains, the DDA has been “guilty” of allowing the use of floodplains for commercial activities.
The YJA has urged the L-G to intervene and prevent the change of land use that the DTC has applied for. The NGO has also referred to the existing structures on the river bed and how they continue to encroach the space meant for the river. “Akshardham was sold only 12 ha of land on the riverbed in 2000, but today it has been allowed to enclose 27.5 ha in the river bed,” said Mr. Misra.
The YJA wants Akshardham to be directed to dismantle its boundary wall that encloses a 6 ha piece of land that was earmarked for parking in the Zonal Plan for Zone O, but is being used for other purposes.
“Since there is no need of any additional parking space in the area as both Akshardham and Games Village have ample parking space with them, the DDA should be directed to change the land use of the 6 ha land to ‘green' (city forest) from ‘parking' so that then at least 6 ha land in the river bed could be secured for ground water recharge,” Mr. Misra said.