Delhi High Court Orders Removal of Illegal Constructions on Yamuna Banks

The Delhi High Court has instructed the DDA vice-chairperson to eliminate encroachments and illegal structures along the Yamuna river bank, riverbed, and adjoining drains. The directive aims to preserve the ecological integrity of the floodplain and prevent potential flood hazards caused by unauthorized constructions.

The Delhi High Court has mandated the vice-chairperson of the DDA to clear encroachments and illegal constructions from the Yamuna river bank, riverbed, and drains flowing into the river.

An order passed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan appoints the DDA vice-chairperson as the key coordinator among relevant government bodies, including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Police, DMRC, and others, to tackle this issue. A meeting with all concerned officials must be convened within a week.

This court directive came on July 8, following a petition aimed at demolishing unauthorized structures near Shaheen Bagh on the Yamuna river bank and preventing future illegal constructions on the floodplain. The Vice Chairman, DDA, has been given six weeks to file an action-taken report.

Petitioner's counsel argued that illegal constructions threatened the ecologically vulnerable Yamuna floodplain and posed dangers to human life during monsoons. Authorities admitted that floodplain encroachments lead to water diversion and subsequent flooding in surrounding areas, thus agreeing with experts that many of Delhi's floods are man-made due to such obstructions.

In April, during a case on waterlogging in Delhi, the high court had also ordered removing encroachments from the Yamuna floodplain and sought a report on biodiversity parks and wetlands development.