India, Nov. 3 -- A proposed 52-km Yamuna riverfront development project in Delhi on the lines of Ahmedabad's Sabarmati riverfront has drawn opposition from a coalition of environmentalists, former water ministry officials, researchers and citizen groups.

The 18 signatories of a letter addressed to Union jal shakti minister CR Patil, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav, Delhi lieutenant governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and chief minister Rekha Gupta have urged the Centre and Delhi government to reconsider the plan, citing the Yamuna's different ecological and hydrological characteristics and the potential to aggravate flood risks in the capital.

The letter argued that the Sabarmati model cannot be replicated along the Yamuna without...