Centre redefines Ganga floodplain, drops ‘construction-free zone’ provision
The Indian government has amended the 2016 River Ganga protection order, removing the explicit 'construction-free zone' designation. The new policy introduces flood return periods to categorize land into active, regulatory, and warning zones.
Why it matters
This policy shift has significant implications for environmental conservation and urban development along the Ganga river basin.
The Centre has redefined the "active floodplain" of the Ganga and its tributaries and introduced regulatory and warning zones based on flood return periods.
The Jal Shakti Ministry, through a notification issued on August 7 and published in the Gazette on August 10, has amended the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016.
The latest amendment removes the "construction free zone" wording and instead says that the banks of the Ganga and its tributaries and their floodplains shall be maintained to reduce pollution sources and pressures, and preserve their natural groundwater recharge functions through necessary measures.
At the same time, the Government has introduced a specific definition of "active floodplain", meaning an area of the Ganga or its tributaries coming under water due to floods corresponding to a one-in-five-year return period.
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