The Delhi Development Authority has floated a tender for the first phase of a proposed 24-km cycling track along the Yamuna, a project that could become the capital’s longest dedicated cycling corridor and connect several existing and planned floodplain public spaces.
The overall construction cost has been estimated at around Rs 16 crore, according to a DDA official cited in the project details. The corridor is planned from the Old Railway Bridge near Wazirabad to National Highway 24 near Sarai Kale Khan.
The first phase forms part of a larger 52-km Yamuna corridor planned in three phases. Under the proposal, a 75-metre to 100-metre-wide public greenway will be developed along the river’s western bank, with cycling and walking trails and areas for passive recreation.
The DDA said the track would use materials permitted in the Yamuna floodplain and that extensive greenery was planned along the route. The proposed alignment will be located outside the active floodplain, where selected recreational activities can be undertaken after obtaining the required approvals.
The corridor is intended to improve public access to the river and nearby parks while promoting what the approved Master Plans of Delhi 2047 describe as a stronger “river-people connect”. It is also planned to link floodplain projects including Baansera, Kalindi Biodiversity Park, Asita and Yamuna Vatika, along with other projects being developed along the river.
The proposed track will include more than a cycling facility. The public greenway is planned to combine walking routes, open spaces and passive recreational areas, potentially creating a continuous public-use corridor across parts of the river’s western edge. The project details also refer to sports grounds and other public spaces alongside the cycling track.
The plan comes amid wider efforts to redevelop the Yamuna riverfront. The Delhi government had earlier announced plans for a riverfront project modelled on Gujarat’s Sabarmati Riverfront, although the Yamuna corridor is being planned within the constraints of the river’s floodplain and the approvals required for permissible recreational activity.
Of the Yamuna’s 52-km stretch through Delhi, the 22-km section between Wazirabad and Okhla remains heavily polluted and is a central focus of planning and restoration efforts. The proposed cycling corridor covers a substantial part of this wider urban river stretch, but the tender presently concerns the first phase of the access and greenway project.
The DDA’s next step is to process the tender for the first phase. Further implementation will depend on approvals applicable to floodplain areas and the progression of the remaining phases of the planned corridor.
