The Supreme Court has asked authorities to clarify how many of the 1,799 unauthorised colonies identified in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are located in floodplains, raising fresh questions over the Yamuna Action Plan’s treatment of illegal construction, drainage and river protection. The court also questioned why the floodplain had been divided using the definition of an “active floodplain” and whether Delhi’s Master Plan 2047 is aligned with the Yamuna Action Plan.
The questions came during proceedings linked to pollution from the Kondli drain, whose untreated water has been flowing directly into the Yamuna. The matter originated in a case filed before the National Green Tribunal in 2015 by environmentalist Abhisht Kusum Gupta. The case alleged that untreated sewage from the drain was entering the river and violating environmental rules.
In August 2022, the NGT imposed an environmental compensation of ₹100 crore on the Noida Authority and ₹50 crore on the Delhi Jal Board. The Noida Authority challenged the order in the Supreme Court, where the proceedings subsequently expanded to cover the Yamuna as a whole, according to the report.
The Supreme Court later directed the formation of a high-powered committee led by the Union Home Secretary. The committee has submitted a report on the Yamuna Action Plan to the court. The report identifies 1,799 unauthorised colonies in the National Capital Region, but, according to the account presented in court, does not propose removing or relocating encroachments and unauthorised structures built on riverbeds, floodplains or drains.
Instead, the plan states that an integrated sewerage system is being developed for the identified colonies, with 73% of the work completed. The court has now sought a more precise account of how many of these colonies fall within floodplain areas. That distinction is significant because sewerage infrastructure alone does not resolve the risks created when settlements occupy land that is exposed to flooding or obstructs the natural movement of stormwater.
The court has also asked the authorities to make a PowerPoint presentation on the action plan so that its proposed measures and required steps can be clearly understood. The presentation is expected to be made jointly by the Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments at the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on October 7. The next hearing is scheduled for November 4.
The proceedings place three administrative questions together: how floodplains are defined, how unauthorised settlements are mapped against those boundaries, and whether metropolitan planning documents and river-cleaning programmes operate with a common framework. The case also links river pollution to land-use decisions, since settlements without adequate sewerage can discharge waste into drains that eventually reach the Yamuna.
A Noida Authority official said a government-level online meeting on the Yamuna-cleaning plan had been held the previous week. Vandana Tripathi, the Authority’s additional chief executive officer, said the work assigned to the Authority would be carried out according to directions from the Uttar Pradesh government. The court’s next review will follow the joint presentation and the authorities’ response on the floodplain locations of the identified colonies.