New Delhi: To stop low-lying areas from flooding through the Yamuna overflow, the Delhi authorities has accredited the development of a 4.72-kilometre-long wall alongside the river from Majnu Ka Tila to the Previous Railway Bridge (ORB), chief minister Rekha Gupta introduced on Tuesday.
The goal to finish the undertaking pre-2027 monsoon season, she mentioned, including the choice, formally cleared as a part of the price range, is rooted within the metropolis’s repeated expertise with extreme flooding.
Specialists, nonetheless, expressed reservations over the transfer, saying it might show counter-productive by affecting the river’s well being and pure floodplains and by risking a flood downstream.
Based on authorities officers, the wall will function a barrier, stopping Yamuna water from spilling into residential areas. “It’s anticipated to supply a agency layer of safety to susceptible localities equivalent to Civil Strains, Kashmere Gate, Yamuna Bazaar and Majnu Ka Tila which have traditionally confronted the worst at any time when water ranges rise,” mentioned an official.
Throughout overflowing, floodwaters enter town by way of low-lying pockets round Majnu Ka Tila, typically submerging stretches of the Ring Street and bringing regular life in Delhi to a standstill. Official knowledge reveals that the Yamuna touched a report degree of 208.66 metres in 2023, surpassing the earlier excessive of 1978. In 2025, the river additionally crossed the hazard mark of 205.33 metres, rising to 207.48 metres.
The undertaking attracts on suggestions made within the August 2024 report of the Joint Flood Committee (JFC), which was primarily based on detailed hydraulic modelling and knowledge evaluation by consultants from the Central Water and Energy Analysis Station (CWPRS), Pune.
The research had recognized the development of a flood safety wall alongside this stretch of the Ring Street as probably the most viable long-term answer.
Gupta mentioned the present embankments are now not satisfactory to take care of future challenges, making it crucial to undertake a sturdy, long-term answer. She alleged that the earlier authorities took no concrete resolution, leaving these areas repeatedly susceptible.
“The wall will function a protecting protect between the river and town, stopping overflow onto roads. It would additionally assist verify riverbank erosion,” she mentioned, including it’s anticipated to curb dumping of waste alongside the riverbanks, serving to protect the floodplain and shield the Yamuna’s ecosystem.
Specialists, nonetheless, disagreed on the efficacy of the transfer. Bhim Singh Rawat, Yamuna activist and member of the South Asia Community on Dams, Rivers and Folks (SANDRP) mentioned, “A number of linear and cross-sectional constructions have already severely altered Yamuna’s pure sample and restricted its meandering capabilities. Constructing a flood safety wall will additional fragment the floodplain. Such boundaries can push floodwaters downstream with higher depth, growing the chance of flooding in east Delhi. The federal government ought to look to develop pure buffers, that are extra sustainable and climate-resilient in the long term.”
“The ITO barrage aggravated the 2023 flood impression as a result of malfunctioning of gates and is serving no function. The federal government ought to plan its decommissioning as it can cut back the flooding dangers,” he added.
Diwan Singh, convener of Yamuna Satyagraha, additionally shared related views. “Making an attempt to regulate a river’s pure course with inflexible constructions might remedy one drawback however create others, typically worsening ecological imbalance and future flood dangers. True flood administration lies in respecting the river’s circulation and planning with nature – not towards it.’