Illegal dairies on Yamuna floodplains cleared, DPCC tells NGT

The DPCC was responding based on a plea filed by animal activist Gauri Maulekhi in 2023 alleging around 60 dairies with over 1,000 cattle were operating on the Yamuna floodplains.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that currently there are no illegal dairies operating on the Yamuna floodplain stretch in Delhi. The development comes a year after a joint committee had found encroachments with cattle on the floodplains.

The development comes a year after a joint committee had found encroachments with cattle on the floodplains. (HT Archive)

The DPCC was responding based on a plea filed by animal activist Gauri Maulekhi in 2023 alleging around 60 dairies with over 1,000 cattle were operating on the Yamuna floodplains in violation of norms. The plea had alleged these were unregulated and no permissions were taken.

The NGT had then tasked a joint committee to carry out inspections, which said while no permanent structures or dairies were found, at least 15 temporary shelters with cattle were seen on the floodplains.

The NGT had disposed of this plea last year, directing both the DDA and the DPCC to take corrective actions. While the DDA – the land-owning agency was asked to immediately remove encroachments, the DPCC was asked to ensure dairy farms are away from the floodplains and have a valid consent to operate (CTO) and a consent to establish (CTE).

“It is most respectfully submitted that no dairy farms are reported in the floodplain,” the DPCC said in a report dated July 23. The report added that the DPCC issued public notices on October 11, December 15, and February 16 in newspapers to create awareness on the “guidelines for the environmental management of dairy farms and gaushalas.”

DDA has been carrying out encroachment removal drives on the Yamuna floodplains since a 2015 NGT order which sought its reclamation and demarcation. In an affidavit last year in this same case, DDA had told the NGT that 192 acres of floodplain land had been reclaimed from illegal nurseries, cattle sheds, and illegal cultivation, but several others had approached the Delhi High Court and received a stay.

The NGT in its order in April last year had said it may take up the matter once again for consideration, if deemed necessary.