Delhi's Master Plan 2047 sets out a green-blue ecological network linking the Ridge to the Yamuna with an integrated 200-km connector. The plan notes nearly 22 per cent of the National Capital Territory is under green cover and that the Ridge, as reserved forest, covers about 7,784 hectares, or nearly six per cent. The city has 26 protected forests totalling about 1,658 hectares, more than 18,000 parks and gardens, seven biodiversity parks and 746 parks maintained by the Delhi Development Authority covering 6,830 hectares.

The document groups assets into a green-blue framework, with blue elements comprising the Yamuna, wetlands, lakes and a network of natural and constructed drains across key basins. It proposes a three-pronged strategy to preserve and improve existing natural assets, create new green-blue assets and introduce such features into the built environment. The plan says the strategy is aimed at richer biodiversity, lower temperatures, reduced flooding and pollution and improved climate resilience.

Yamuna restoration is central, with the 22-km Wazirabad–Okhla stretch identified as a priority since it contributes about 76 per cent of the river’s pollution load while representing less than two per cent of its length. The plan records no freshwater flow downstream of Wazirabad during the dry season and states the river receives treated and untreated wastewater through drains. It outlines 13 projects across 1,700 hectares of floodplain to restore wetlands, create riverine forests and grasslands and enhance groundwater recharge, designating the active floodplain a no construction zone with limited recreational uses.

To improve water quality the plan proposes intercepting and treating all 22 drains that discharge into the Yamuna through sewage treatment, constructed wetlands and bioremediation and integrating those corridors with green spaces and floodplains to form continuous ecological corridors. A key connectivity proposal is a Ridge–Yamuna Park Connector envisaging a 200-km cycling network including a 52-km floodplain stretch and a 75–100 metre public greenway with trails and activity spaces. The strategy also promotes green buffers, bioswales, urban and micro forests, community gardens and repurposing under-used sites while favouring indigenous species and monitoring.