6 of Delhi forest dept’s 28 water bodies found encroached, NGT told

The forest department, in its latest report uploaded on Sunday, said it manages 28 water bodies — 21 in the south division, three in west, and two each in the central and north divisions.

Out of the 28 water bodies under the Delhi forest department’s jurisdiction, six are found to be encroached and not present on the ground, the department told the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

6 of Delhi forest dept’s 28 water bodies found encroached, NGT told

The tribunal had taken suo motu cognisance of a media report last year, flagging missing water bodies in the Capital. In its order issued on February 14, the NGT had directed all agencies, including the forest department, to disclose the current status and area of water bodies under their management as well as steps taken to remove encroachments and restore them.

The forest department, in its latest report uploaded on Sunday, said it manages 28 water bodies — 21 in the south division, three in west, and two each in the central and north divisions.

Of those in the south, five were found missing. “Two complete water bodies — spread over 1,520 square metre each — have been encroached by two farmhouses. A third water body of 9,490 square metre has been encroached by an unauthorised colony, while the fourth, with an area of 4,680 square metre, has been encroached by a dharamshala and temple,” the report mentioned.

A fifth water body, measuring 19,930 square metre, no longer exists but encroachments have been removed and fencing installed to prevent further intrusion, as per the report.

Another wetland in Shastri Park, under the central division was also found non-existent. “Based on ground truthing, no wetland exists at geographic coordinates at Shastri Park in Shahdara,” the report said.

Further, a request has been sent to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for demarcation of another wetland in southwest Delhi’s Garhi Mandu.

In the west division, of the three water bodies at Rajokri, two have dried up. The forest department said it plans to dig and maintain the dry water bodies and rejuvenate and restore all three within a year.

In the north division, one wetland of around one bigha (around 1,600 square metre) is partly encroached by built-up areas. “The demarcation exercise is in process for this one wetland. After it is over, the process of removing encroachment will be initiated,” the report said.

Delhi’s State Wetland Authority (SWA) had told the NGT in December last year that out of 322 water bodies identified by Geospatial Delhi Limited (GSDL) using satellite imagery in the city, only 43 were found during ground truthing. Further, out of 1,045 water bodies identified through revenue records, only 631 were detected on the ground. Thus, only 674 out of Delhi’s 1,367 water bodies were found on the ground, with the remaining all encroached upon.