Need for a clear techno-legal definition of blue gold: The river floodplains in 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.