Agencies continue blame game over Delhi’s vanished ‘wetland’

The matter relates to the disappearance of a functional wetland (Jharoda Pond) near Wazirabad in North Delhi, which once supported a thriving ecosystem of aquatic flora and fauna

New Delhi

The Jharoda pond, as seen on Tuesday. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Five months since being pulled up by the National Green Tribunal over the disappearance of a water body, the Jharoda pond, in Wazirabad, central and state agencies continued to play the blame game over dumping of inert material at the functional wetland, officials aware of the matter said.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which oversees Delhi’s landfills at Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur, sought to blame the private concessionaire involved in the bioremediation process and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the landowning agency. Meanwhile, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) held that it was the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s (DPCC’s) responsibility to ensure adherence to Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, according to submissions made in the tribunal.

In July, the NGT took suo motu cognisance of a news report detailing the dumping of inert material from the Bhalswa landfill on a functional wetland, the Jharoda pond, which resulted in its disappearance. The tribunal issued notice to MCD, CPCB, DPCC and other agencies concerned, seeking detailed reports on the water body.

“The matter relates to the disappearance of a functional wetland (Jharoda Pond) near Wazirabad in North Delhi, which once supported a thriving ecosystem of aquatic flora and fauna. The article mentions that, over the past two years, the pond has been systematically filled with municipal waste, resulting in the transformation of the wetland into a levelled landmass with no visible traces of its original ecological character,” a bench headed by NGT chairperson justice Prakash Shrivastava said in the order dated July 23.

To be sure, not a single water body has been notified as a ‘wetland’ in Delhi under the Wetland Rules, 2017.

In response, the MCD said it had no role in the dumping of inert material at the site. “It is humbly submitted that the answering respondent has not been dumping any form of waste at any wetland in the Wazirabad and Timarpur areas. The said site, where it has been alleged that the waste is being dumped, owned by the DDA...” the MCD said in a report submitted to the NGT, which was uploaded on December 5.

MCD submitted that for biomining and bioremediation of legacy waste at Bhalswa, a request for proposal (RFP) was floated in 2022, which is now being carried out by a private concessionaire chosen through an open tender, adding it was the concessionaire’s role to ensure inert material was disposed of correctly.

“After the tender being granted to the concessionaire, the responsibilities surrounding disposal of legacy waste at Bhalswa dumpsite have been transferred to the concessionaire, who is required to undertake all necessary approvals and certificates, as envisaged by the RFP, during the process of safe disposal,” it said.

The news article had also said, according to local residents, that dumping had been taking place for at least two years with little or no intervention from the authorities. Until August 2023, the site had showed signs of biological activity, including the presence of grass and bird species, NGT had noted.

CPCB, in its report, which was also uploaded on December 5, said that while it had developed guidelines for the disposal of legacy waste in 2019, with a detailed methodology and process of bioremediation and biomining, its implementation—alongside the enforcement of provisions of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016—was the responsibility of the state pollution boards. In this case, it said it was the responsibility of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to monitor the site.

“That, accordingly, DPCC shall monitor and ensure compliance of the directions issued under Section 5 of Environment Protect Act, 1986 for implementation of SWM Rules, 2016. DPCC shall also ensure enforcement of provisions of the SWM Rules 2016 by the concerned local authorities in Delhi...” CPCB said in its affidavit.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 28, 2026.