Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
floodplains. The floodplains also support the river flow throughout the
year by modulating the discharge into the river, providing a feeding
ground for biodiversity that lives in the riverine ecosystem, and
recharging groundwater aquifers interacting with the river.
FLOODPLAINS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE
The area on either side of a river that becomes part of the extended
river bed when the river floods is called the floodplain. The extent of the
floodplain is defined by the area a river would occupy in the event of a
100-year return flood. 19 This area should belong to the river, for the river
to survive and also for the larger human civilization to not perish. The
diversity of the ecosystem housed in a floodplain is sometimes 100 or
even 1000 times that of the river water ecosystem.
Floodplains are classified into active and passive floodplains. Active
floodplains are where the river is still free and there is no encroachment.
Passive floodplains are those areas where there is some human activity.
But these areas anyway get flooded if there is a high volume of water
flowing through river during very high floods.
Manoj Misra, known for his work on the revitalization of Yamuna, in
an essay on the importance of floodplains lists the following 20 :
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Floodplains spread water safely and harmlessly when it floods
Recharge groundwater aquifers connected to the river
Spread and deposit sediments brought down from the
catchment
Provide heat sinks
Provide fertile land for seasonal cultivation for farmers
Floodplains have been home to highly diverse organisms of the
river ecosystem
If the floodplains, both active and passive, are not maintained
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