New Delhi: Authorities in Delhi have issued eviction notices to dozens of residents living in what officials described as “illegal” and unsafe structures along the Yamuna Bazar floodplain area, citing growing safety concerns following repeated flooding incidents.

According to officials, 52 occupants residing within the flood-control boundary wall near the Yamuna ghats have been served notices, while a wider crackdown launched by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority targets around 300 households in the area.

In a statement posted on X on Saturday, the district magistrate of Old Delhi said encroachments on the Yamuna floodplains posed a major risk to human life, property and public safety.

“Illegal occupation in Yamuna flood plains (O-Zone) poses a serious threat to life, property and public safety,” the statement read, adding that severe flooding in 2023 and 2025 had triggered large-scale relief operations and placed heavy pressure on public resources.

Officials said preventive measures were necessary to protect residents and restore the floodplain zone.

The eviction notices, issued on 7 May, direct residents to vacate the land within 15 days. Authorities warned that failure to comply could result in demolition action without further notice.

According to the notice, the residential cluster comprising around 310 dwellings lies within the O-Zone, a protected no-construction floodplain owned by the Delhi Development Authority.

“The same is being inundated during Yamuna floods every year thereby posing a serious threat to the loss of human life, cattle and property,” the notice stated.

The DDMA invoked provisions under Section 34 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to carry out the action.

The development comes shortly after Taranjit Singh Sandhu chaired a review meeting with DDA officials to assess rejuvenation and flood mitigation work in the Yamuna Bazar area following a recent site visit with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

Officials have been instructed to strengthen flood-control measures in the low-lying region, which regularly experiences waterlogging during the monsoon season and often disrupts traffic movement along Ring Road.