Date 12 Feb. 2026
To,
1 Sh. Tanmay Kumar,
Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC)
2 Sh. Rajeev Kumar Mital,
Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)
3 Sh. V.L. Kantha Rao,
Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS)
4 Sh. Bharat Kumar Sharma
Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
5 Shri Anupam Prasad
Chairman, Central Water Commission (CWC)
6 Honorable Chief Secretary
Govt of NCT of Delhi,
7 Sh. S.K. Meena
Secretary, Delhi Development Authority (DDA),
8 Sh. Krishna S. Vatsa
Head of the Department, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA),
Copy to
Public Grievance,
National Green Tribunal (NGT), Delhi
Subject: Damage to Yamuna floodplain forested patch by dumping of concrete debris & rocks in the name of a proposed river front development project at ITO Chhath Ghat, Delhi.
Through this letter we undersigned citizens would like to bring following points regarding significant damage to scores of plants, trees in a green forested area on Yamuna floodplain for a proposed river front development project at ITO Chhath Ghat in national Capital.
1. We have learnt the large-scale dumping of construction and demolition (C&D) debris and Aravalli rock materials have taken place during night hours of 8-9 February 2026 at ITO Chhath Ghat, Delhi for an undisclosed riverfront development project. (Kindly find a short video date 09.02.2026 and few pictures dated 12.02.2026 of the said dumping as Annexure A).
2. The proposed area covering over at least 15 hectares is already forested by over hundreds of native trees including Kadamb, Jamun, Peepal, Bargad, Siras, Amaltas, Jungle Jalebi, Bers, Neem, Arjun etc. and riverine vegetation over past several years. (Kindly find the 17.05.2025 Google Earth image of the proposed area as Annexure B).
3. The proposed area is very much integral part of active Yamuna floodplain and was completely submerged during July 2023 and September 2025 flood spell. (Kindly find the Copernicus satellite imagery dated 13.07.2023 and 05.09.2025 and post flood picture showing level on inundation at the site as Annexure C).
3. There is no information in public domain about the actual plan, total cost, executing agencies, contractor, detailed project report (DPR), environment impact assessment (EIA) or about citizen consultation done for the proposed riverfront project.
4. The river at the particular location is forming its natural concave bend. The proposed riverfront has potential to compromise the natural function of the river during flood with adverse impact. (Kindly find the Google Earth image showing the concave bank formation as Annexure D).
5. In such situation, the flood protection structures created on opposite convex bank by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for Yamuna bank station might face additional surge in flood force, weakening the structures and posing flood threats to the station.
6. The concretization of the riverbank for the project also has potential to reduce flood cushion and flood carrying capacity of the river during monsoon. The act might result in flood afflux and back flows in adjoining drains thus could become a source of flooding around ITO and Supreme Court complex as seen during July 2023 flood spell.
7. The July 2023 and September 2025 Yamuna flood spells have been quite unusual. During both the deluges comparatively lower peak flood volume than great 1978 Yamuna flood were recorded at Hathni Kund Barrage (HKB) in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana. However, the impact of both deluges in Delhi has been unprecedented as seen from the highest flood levels reached in Delhi.
The July 2023 flood spell crossed the 1978 highest flood level (HFL) by a huge margin of 1.17 meter and reached close to the 1978 HFL during September 2025. (Kindly find the table showing peak flood volume recorded at HKB and corresponding rise in flood level at Delhi Railway Bridge (DRB) flood forecast station of Central Water Commission (CWC) since 1978 as Annexure E).
8. The factors behind both the unanticipated deluges have so far not been studied in credible, scientific and adequate manner. However, these have undoubtedly hinted at reduction in flood carrying capacity and rise in riverbed level of Yamuna River in Delhi stretch. (Kindly find the links of SANDRP analysis on July 2023 and September 2025 Yamuna as Annexure F).
9. Both the deluges have significantly inundated most of the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) biodiversity parks also called as river front projects developed over past eight years and caused losses of crores of rupees spent on these projects. However, till today there is neither any comprehensive study on the impact of floods on these projects nor DDA has shared total public money spent and losses incurred on these projects. (Kindly find the links of SANDRP reports detailing the impact of July 2023 and September 2025 floods on DDA’s riverfront projects as Annexure G).
10. The honorable judiciary particularly the National Green Tribunal (NGT) have in several orders strictly prohibited dumping of debris, encroachment, reclamation and construction activities on Yamuna floodplain in Delhi. The dumping of debris and rock material for the proposed river front project at ITO Chhath Ghat is in violation of clear orders by the NGT.
The above act is also in direct contravention of NGT’s landmark Maily Se Nirmal Yamuna judgement dated 13.01.2015 O.A. No. 6 of 2012 & M.A. Nos. 967/2013 & 275/2014, Manoj Misra Vrs Union of India which deliberating on the Yamuna River Front Development (YRFD) issue at point no. 57 and 58 clearly prohibits DDA with YRFD scheme in active floodplain which is designated as Zone ‘O’. (Kindly find the excerpts of point no. 56 and 57 as mentioned below and link of the order as Annexure H).
56. ….The Expert Committee, for the reasons stated in its Report, suggested that the YRFD plan of DDA is untenable and should be stopped. It has already been placed on record that the DDA itself admits in their proposed re-delineation of ‘O Zone’, in terms of the public notice issued by it on 28th September, 2013, that the ‘River Front’ refers to an area that lies outside the embankments of a river, but the area of the proposed YRFD plan is within the active floodplain. Thus, it is recommended that this YRFD scheme should be replaced by another plan for restoration of the river and its floodplain, as suggested by the Expert Committee and accepted by the High-Powered Committee. We direct that all the recommendations of the Expert Committee, including the above, should be implemented without any further delay.
58. This report has been examined by the Tribunal and we are of the considered view that the DDA should not proceed further with its YRFD scheme and the recommendations of the Expert Committee as accepted by the High-Powered Committee should be implemented. We order accordingly. Preservation, restoration and beautification of River Yamuna and its banks would not achieve the desired results, unless effective steps were taken to ensure that the riverbed is neither encroached nor any kind of waste (construction debris, municipal waste or any other waste) is dumped at the banks of River Yamuna. The Expert Committee’s recommendations, as accepted by the High-Powered Committee, were that the ‘O’ Zone as defined in the MPD, 2021 and as delineated in the report dated 19th April, 2014, together with the corresponding part of the River and its active floodplain, within the embankments on the UP side on the east, should be designated as the River Zone. The river zone so designated should be preserved and protected for the conservation and restoration of the river and no development activity should be permitted within the river zone that encroaches upon the active floodplain, obstructs the flow or pollutes the river.
11. There is no information whether the proposed plan has secured permission from National Mission for Clean Ganga which is mandatory under Clauses 4, 5, 6 and 42 of River Ganga Authorities Order 2016.
In the light of the above facts, we humbly demand following actions from your esteem self:
1. Immediate halt in debris and rock dumping activities at ITO Chhath Ghat in Delhi and removal of the same to restore the floodplain in original state.
2. Strict actions against involved agency, department under NGT Jan. 2015 Judgement, Environment Protection Act (EPA) 1986 and Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024 for carrying out the illegitimate act deliberately.
3. Formation of independent expert panel for holistic appraisal and assessment of the proposed and all other riverfront development projects in active floodplain of river Yamuna in Delhi.
4. Making public the DPR and EIA documents of the proposed river front development project at ITO Chhath Ghat.
5. Conduction of an independent multidisciplinary study examining on river cross section, geo-morphology and factors responsible for recent unusual Yamuna flood spells in Delhi.
6. Mandatory consultation with domain experts, civil societies, concerned citizens before proceeding with the plan.
7. Disclosure of full information regarding total money spent into DDA’s already built and ongoing ‘biodiversity park’ (river front projects), environmental and financial impact of recent floods on these projects and lessons learnt by the agency.
8. Strict implementation of NGT Jan. 2015 judgement restricting any construction activities in active Yamuna floodplain (Zone O).
Sirs, the site already supports forested green landscape and functions as natural river front benefiting all river, environment, wildlife and numerous regular visitors. The present act of dumping construction debris and rock materials is not only damaging the river, floodplain and natural greenery but also has huge potential to aggravate flood damages and destruction in national capital in coming years.
Sirs, the Yamuna River and its floodplain in Delhi have already been severely fragmented, mostly channelized by number of linear and cross-sectional roads, over 26 bridges, 3 barrages and several construction projects e.g. the Akshardham temple and CWG Village greatly reducing river’s flood absorption, carrying and passage capacity.
In light of this, any further act of encroachment, concretization and debris dumping in the Yamuna floodplains is bound to be a recipe for a big flood disaster in Delhi.
As the dumping activities continue, we request you to understand the urgency of the matter and take effective actions immediately.
Yours Sincerely!
1) Shashi Shekhar (IAS), Former Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR, RD & GR). shekhar.shashi1956@gmail.com
2) Manu Bhatnagar, INTACH, Delhi, manucentaur@gmail.com
3) Dr. Shiv Singh Rawat, Water Resources Expert, ssrawat110@gmail.com
4) Dr. Onkar Mittal, Convener Swasth Hind, Delhi onkarmittal@swasthhind.in
5) Bhavreen Kandhari, Warrior Moms bhavreenkandhari@gmail.com
4) Sudha Mohan, Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan (YJA), sudhababa@gmail.com
5) Sharda Bakshi, Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan (YJA)
6 Padmavati Dwivedi, Compassionate Living, padmavedi@rediffmail.com
7) Ashok Upadhya, Friends of Yamuna Foundation, Delhi ashokupadhyay4046@gmail.com
8) Pankaj Kumar, Founder Team Earth Warrior, Earthwarriorofficial@gmail.com
9) Diwan Singh, Convener, Natural Heritage First, diwans2007@gmail.com
10) Bhim Singh Rawat, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), Bhim.sandrp@gmail.com
11) Verhaen Khanna, New Delhi Nature Society (NDNS), newdelhinaturesociety@gmail.com
12) Paras Tyagi, Centre for Youth Culture Law & Environment (CYCLE). reachcycle@gmail.com
13) Rajendra Ravi, Researcher and Urban Social Planner, Delhi rajendraravi1857@gmail.com
14) Raju Sajwan, Down To Earth, raju.sajwan@cseindia.org
15) Nivedita Khandekar, Delhi Citizen,nivedita_him@rediffmail.com
16) Yayati Bhardwaj, Delhi Citizen yayatibhardwaj@zohomail.in
17) Praveen Pandey, Ganga-Yamuna River Activist, pandey563@gmail.com
18) Kiran Pal Rana, Convener, Yamuna Nadi Mitra Mandli
19) Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement
20) Waterman Rajendra Singh, Tarun Bharat Sangh, office@tarunbharatsangh.in
21) Soumya Dutta, MAUSAM (Movement for Advancing Understanding of Sustainability And Mutuality
22) Nupur Chitalia, University of Toronto, nupur.chitalia@gmail.com
23) G V Venugopala Sarma, IAS(Retd), Former Member Secretary, NDMA venugh@gmail.com
ANNEXURES:
Annexure 1 ITO Chhath Ghat Dumping 090226.mp4
Annexure 2:
Annexure 3:
Annexure 4:
Annexure 5:
| Date | Peak flood volume at HKB in lakh cusec | Peak Flood level at DRB, Delhi |
| 03 Sept 1978 | 7,09,000 | 207.49 |
| 25 Sept 1988 | 5,77,522 | 206.92 |
| 05 Sept 1995 | 5,36,188 | 206.93 |
| 20 Sept. 2008 | 4,09,576 | 206.00 |
| 20 Sept 2010 | 7,44,507 | 207.11 |
| 17 June 2013 | 8,06,464 | 207.32 |
| 28 July 2018 | 5,03,925 | 206.05 |
| 18 Aug 2019 | 8,28,000 | 206.60 |
| 11 July 2023 | 3,59,760 | 208.66 |
| 01 Sept. 2025 | 3,29,313 | 207.48 |
Annexure 6:
1 Sept 2025: Why did Yamuna Repeat July 2023 Like Flood Spell in Delhi? (SANDR, 09 Sept. 2025)
2 July 2023 Delhi Floods: Why Unprecedented Yamuna Water Levels even at moderate releases? (SANDRP, 16 July 2023)
Annexure 7:
1 Sept 2025: ‘Riverfront’ Projects submerged Again (SANDRP, 18 Sept. 2025)
2 Will DDA Review Riverfront Projects or Continue Ad-hoc Experiments? (SANDRP, 19 Sept. 2025)
3 Most DDA Yamuna floodplain parks submerged; recovery may take months (HT, 06 Sept. 2025)
4 Freshly inaugurated DDA riverfront projects submerged as Yamuna swells (ET, 04 Sept. 2025)
5 DDA shifts focus from building concrete structures to greenscapes near Yamuna (ToI, 10 Sept. 2025)
6 Delhi fails to learn flood lesson, to re-tile Yamuna ghats (HT, 25 Sept. 2025)
Annexure 8: Maily Se Nirmal Yamuna Jan. 2025, NGT Judgement
SANDRP 