The National Green Tribunal has issued notices to the Centre over a 2026 amendment that removes the “construction-free zone” safeguard from the Ganga floodplain definition.
Applicant Katyayani argues the new focus on “active floodplain” and aspirational pollution-control language weakens legal protection, fragments floodplain regulation and undermines the public trust doctrine.
The notification remains in force pending the next hearing on October 27, 2026.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has challenged the amendment to the provision designating the floodplains of the Ganga and its tributaries as ‘construction-free zones’. The NGT’s Principal Bench has issued notices to the central government and other respondents, seeking their responses.
A bench comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Srivastava and Expert Member Afroz Ahmed passed the order on August 25, 2026, in OA No. 502/2026, Katyayani vs. Union of India & Ors. The applicant, Katyayani, argued the case in person.
The matter relates to the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (Water Resources)’s notification SO 4427(E) dated August 7, 2026, which was published as a gazette notification on August 10. The notification amends the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authority Order, 2016.
The applicant has argued before the NGT that the 2026 amendment weakens the protection provisions made in 2016 regarding the floodplains of the Ganga and its tributaries.
The amendment defines “active floodplain” for the first time under paragraph 3(1)(aa) to mean an area of a river that is inundated during a flood that occurs once in five years, i.e., a one-in-five-year return period.
According to the applicant, this change fragments the river’s floodplain into separate areas, instead of a broad and unified area. The active floodplain is defined as the five-year floodplain, the regulatory zone is defined as the five-year floodplain, and the warning zone is defined as the 25- and 100-year floodplain.
The petition considers this change significant because a floodplain is not limited to the area that is inundated by relatively short-term floods. Floodplains play a vital role in dispersing river floodwaters, recharging groundwater, and maintaining river ecosystems.
The applicant also objected to another provision of the amendment. Paragraph 4(ix) of the 2016 Order provided for a “Shall Be Construction-Free Zone” in relation to the banks and floodplains of the Ganga and its tributaries.
The 2026 amendment removed these words. Instead, it states that riverbanks and floodplains shall be maintained to minimise sources and pressures of pollution and to preserve their natural groundwater recharge functions through necessary measures.
The applicant has described this new provision as “aspirational and unenforceable.” She argued that using general purpose language, rather than that of conservation, could undermine effective regulation of construction activities in the floodplain.
This change has been presented in the petition as the most significant deviation from the 2016 conservation framework.
The applicant has challenged the amendment citing several earlier legal and environmental provisions, including the National Rivers Notification SO 521(E) dated February 20, 2009, the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone Notification dated December 18, 2012, and the NGT order dated July 13, 2017 in the case of MC Mehta vs. Union of India.
The petition also cites the Public Trust Doctrine. Under this doctrine, natural resources are considered public trusts, not privately owned by the government. The applicant argues that the Gangetic floodplain should also be viewed under this conservation approach.
The NGT also noted in its order that a similar issue is already pending in OA No. 489/2026 - Amit Kumar vs. Union of India & Others. Therefore, both cases have been listed together.
In its August 25 order, the bench issued notice to the respondents and noted that the application sought interim relief. However, at this stage, the NGT has not granted any interim stay on the notification.
The applicant has been directed to serve notice on the respondents and file an affidavit to that effect at least one week before the next hearing.
The next hearing of both the cases will be on October 27, 2026.
The notification, dated August 7, 2026, is currently in effect. The NGT has neither stayed its operation nor issued a final opinion on the validity of its provisions. Responses from the central government and other respondents in the case will clarify the government’s regulatory and scientific basis for the amendment and how the new framework for floodplain construction and conservation will be implemented.