Delhi Master Plan 2047 splits Yamuna floodplain into core and buffer zones

Delhi’s proposed Master Plan 2047 redraws how the Yamuna floodplain will be managed, separating its protected O-Zone into a core floodplain and an outer buffer where some recreational activity may be allowed.

O-1, covering the defined 1-in-25-year floodplain, would remain off limits for construction and development. In O-2, outside that boundary, the plan permits specified regulated uses such as parks and green spaces. A DDA official said the aim was not unrestricted construction but recreation that does not harm the river’s ecological or flood-management functions.

The plan also proposes restoring wetlands by de-silting water bodies and turning natural depressions into storage basins. It calls for monitoring against illegal construction, construction-waste dumping and untreated sewage discharge. Religious gatherings would be restricted to earmarked sites, with rules for waste, idol immersion and fertiliser use.

Environmental campaigner Bhim Singh Rawat of SANDRP criticised the proposed split, arguing that a 1-in-100-year flood level should guide protection instead. Ground-level demarcation of the floodplain is continuing under National Green Tribunal directions, while more than 300 O-Zone marking boards have been installed along the Wazirabad-to-Okhla stretch.