Order of the National Green Tribunal regarding demarcation of red line and blue lines for rivers in Maharashtra, 15/09/2023
Order of the National Green Tribunal (Western Zone Bench, Pune) in the matter of Sarang Yadvadkar & Others Vs The State of Maharashtra dated 15/09/2023.
The Water Resources Department, Maharashtra in its report said that in Akola district, two rivers Morna and Vidrupa are flowing and the demarcation of 12 km and 8 km is in progress, which would be completed by September 2023. Considering the occurrence of flash floods, cloud burst and heavy rainfall in recent years between 2019 to 2022 in Dhule, Nandurbar and Jalgaon districts, the procedures for marking the blue flood line and red flood line in these three districts are in progress, however no timeline was given, the court noted. Therefore, the NGT fixed four month's period timeline as an outer limit to finish the task.
The matter related to demarcation of red line and blue lines for rivers in Maharashtra. There are two types of flood lines, Red and Blue. The Blue Flood Lines mark the level of the flood that comes every 25 years whereas the Red Flood Lines mark level of the flood which comes every 100 years. The portion of land between the two Blue Flood Lines is known as “prohibitive zone” where no construction is permissible. And the portion of land between Blue Flood Line and Red Flood Lines is known as “Restrictive Zone” where construction is permissible but under certain conditions.