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Need for a Clear Techno-Legal Definition of Blue Gold:The River Floodplains in India


Affiliations
1 Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi 110 025, India
2 Department of Geology, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India
3 Discipline of Earth Sciences, IIT Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar 382 355, India
 

The present article highlights the need for a clear techno-legal definition of the river floodplains in India. In the context of environment protection, it reviews some of the recent judgements passed by the National Green Tribunal of India (NGT) pertaining to protection of the river floodplains. The inconsistency and differences in the legal arguments pertaining to the definition of river floodplains are highlighted. The geomorphic and hydraulic approach used for defining the floodplain of a river are discussed. It has emerged out from the discussions that the only abiding and faithful definition of the floodplain is its hydro-geomorphic character. This is manifested by sand, silt and clay and various geomorphic units associated with the depositional activity of the present day river.

Keywords

Embankment, Environment, Floodplain, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Hydro-Geomorphic, National Green Tribunal, Techno-Legal.
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  • Need for a Clear Techno-Legal Definition of Blue Gold:The River Floodplains in India

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Authors

Vikram Soni
Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi 110 025, India
Shashank Shekhar
Department of Geology, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India
Vikrant Jain
Discipline of Earth Sciences, IIT Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar 382 355, India

Abstract


The present article highlights the need for a clear techno-legal definition of the river floodplains in India. In the context of environment protection, it reviews some of the recent judgements passed by the National Green Tribunal of India (NGT) pertaining to protection of the river floodplains. The inconsistency and differences in the legal arguments pertaining to the definition of river floodplains are highlighted. The geomorphic and hydraulic approach used for defining the floodplain of a river are discussed. It has emerged out from the discussions that the only abiding and faithful definition of the floodplain is its hydro-geomorphic character. This is manifested by sand, silt and clay and various geomorphic units associated with the depositional activity of the present day river.

Keywords


Embankment, Environment, Floodplain, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Hydro-Geomorphic, National Green Tribunal, Techno-Legal.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv117%2Fi12%2F1958-1961