Report warns Yamuna floodplains in Delhi losing capacity due to projects

Flood levels in 2023 and 2025 crossed 207m with less than half 1978’s discharge, showing how encroachments and siltation have crippled the river’s capacity.

An alarming reduction in the flood-carrying capacity of the Yamuna floodplains in Delhi has been noted in recent years, a report by the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has warned, pointing towards a surge of infrastructure projects, rampant encroachments and ill-conceived beautification works.

Over 75% of floodplain land is encroached; projects like Akshardham and CWG Village alone occupy 250 hectares, creating bottlenecks and raising river levels. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

The shrinking capacity, it said, explains the “unconventional” flood levels witnessed in the Capital in July 2023 and again this September – despite far lower upstream discharge compared to historic floods.

Drawing on Central Water Commission (CWC) data, the report compared past and present flood patterns. On September 3, 1978, a peak discharge of 709,000 cusecs at Hathnikund barrage (HKB) corresponded to a water level of 207.49 metres at the Delhi Railway Bridge (DRB). By contrast, on July 11, 2023, the Yamuna swelled to 208.66 metres on a discharge of just 359,760 cusecs. Again, on September 1, 2025, a discharge of 329,313 cusecs pushed the water level to 207.48 metres.

“First in July 2023 and now in September 2025, the river flood levels have gone beyond 207 metre at DRB, with less than half of the earlier peak flood volume recorded at the HKB. This is a very serious matter and suggests a catastrophic flood event to unfold in the national capital whenever HKB records more than 500,000 or 600,000 cusecs, the peak flood volume, or repeats the 1978, 2010, 2013 or 2019-like flood spells,” said Bhim Singh Rawat, associate coordinator of SANDRP.

Despite repeated attempts, both the Delhi government and the DDA did not respond to HT’s queries.

The report identified large-scale infrastructure as a key factor in reducing the Yamuna’s flood-carrying capacity. “In just 22 km Yamuna stretch in Delhi, there are three barrages and about 26 bridges built over the river. Some more bridges are under construction…. The back-to-back 4 double-lane road bridges near Sarai Kale Khan and the DND bridge are examples of how these structures have created a bottleneck situation during floods and disrupted floodplain connectivity,” the report stated.

Permanent occupation of floodplain land has further exacerbated risks, the report said. “Most of the floodplain land on the western bank has already been permanently occupied by several governmental projects. Since the eastern floodplain of the river is lower, it is quite vulnerable to severe submergence during periodical floods…. Over the past decade and a half, a huge chunk of the eastern floodplain has also been reclaimed for construction projects. The Metro Depots, CWG Village, and Akshardham Temple alone have eaten into over 250 ha of the floodplain on the eastern bank,” it noted.

A Delhi Development Authority (DDA) survey from August 2024, cited by the report, claimed that more than 75 percent of the 9,700 hectares of Yamuna floodplain in Delhi has been encroached upon. Rawat added, “The DDA itself has allotted over 30 hectares of floodplain land for casting yards. For over a decade, the developers have hugely raised floodplain land therebydumping concrete materials.”

SANDRP’s July 2025 field report, also incorporated in the current study, highlighted ongoing dumping of construction material, solid waste, illegal construction, and widespread violations along the floodplain downstream of Wazirabad.

The report criticises ongoing beautification works and siltation. “In the name of restoration, the DDA has been working on 11 beautification projects costing about Rs. 800 crores and covering about 1600 acres of floodplain since 2017…. Moreover, round the year, a huge amount of silt and sediment has been entering the Yamuna system through the river itself and via multiple drains. However, in the absence of adequate flows, it is getting trapped behind the barrages and near the bridges in Delhi, increasing the riverbed level,” it stated.

Singh said the two consecutive episodes of flooding in Delhi underscored “the absence of river governance”. He added, “All the concerned agencies are required to take concrete measures based on credible assessments to address the causative factors in the context of the two recent flood disasters. Delhi must begin undoing the adverse impacts of completed projects to the possible extent.”

As a way forward, the report recommended halting new projects that dissect the floodplain, removing structures deemed dispensable, restoring land occupied by large projects, and prioritising ecological restoration over cosmetic interventions.