DDA steps up holistic efforts towards Yamuna rejuvenation as per LG’s directives

In line with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Sardar Taranjit Singh Sandhu’s directions for a Green and Clean Delhi, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) held the first stakeholder consultation workshop in the run-up to the Yamuna Dialogues.

The initiative follows Sandhu’s preliminary visits to review the status of the Yamuna floodplains and subsequent meetings with senior DDA officials, during which he directed them to tackle pollution in the river through a multi-dimensional approach.

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The Lieutenant Governor emphasised that the people of Delhi, along with experts and other stakeholders, must be made active partners in the river’s rejuvenation so that the restoration of the Yamuna—especially its floodplains—becomes a shared civic mission rather than merely a government-led exercise.

Sandhu had pointed out that the river’s floodplains are openly accessible to the public and, therefore, their restoration and maintenance must take into account the manner in which they are used.

The Lieutenant Governor also underlined that existing national and international best practices could serve as guiding benchmarks for the way forward.

Notably, the Yamuna Dialogues have been conceived by the DDA as a collaborative platform to bring together national and international experts and institutions to share global and Indian best practices in river restoration and riverfront development, discuss nature-based solutions for floodplain management, explore innovative financing mechanisms for large-scale ecological infrastructure, and align ongoing efforts with climate resilience and urban sustainability frameworks.

The initiative also aims to facilitate knowledge exchange, build strategic partnerships and identify solutions suited to the unique ecological and urban context of the Yamuna.

The programme will culminate in two major dialogue sessions, proposed to be held in September 2026 and January 2027, during which a comprehensive roadmap outlining agreed priorities, implementation strategies and timelines for the restoration of the Yamuna corridor will be deliberated upon and finalised.

Meanwhile, representatives from government institutions, policymakers, environmental experts, scientists, urban planners, landscape architects, technical institutions and other stakeholders participated in the workshop to deliberate on the future of the Yamuna river corridor and identify practical, sustainable and science-based approaches for its long-term restoration and management.

Floodplain-responsive planning and ghat development were discussed extensively, with a focus on designing public infrastructure that works in harmony with the river’s natural flood cycles rather than against them.

Meanwhile, the Lieutenant Governor has been conducting extensive visits across the city and regularly reviewing issues concerning the national capital’s infrastructure and overall civic conditions to devise solutions to problems affecting residents.