Intach questions Haryana’s claims, says Najafgarh Jheel larger than 47 acres

NGT has been hearing a plea filed by INTACH since 2018, which sought the declaration of the jheel as a notified wetland

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) has challenged Haryana’s claims on the Najafgarh Jheel, pointing to inaccurate information shared by the state with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last month stating that only covers 47 acres in Haryana and was practically non-existent before 2010.

Responding to a submission by the Haryana government on January 9, 2025, INTACH said record dating as far back as 1882 show an excessive area of inundation stretching nearly 1,772 acres. (HT Archive)

Questioning these claims about the jheel, which is a trans boundary water body spread across both Haryana and Delhi, Intach in an affidavit to the NGT shared a series of historical documents, including the Gurgaon Gazetteer (1983) and 1936 Survey of India map, which shows that the jheel existed in Haryana back then too.

Further, Intach said over 2,000 acres gets submerged in the state, making claims of only a 47-acre Jheel existing on the Haryana side alone questionable.

Najafgarh Jheel is Delhi’s largest lake and, historically, used to be fed by the Sahibi river. In present times, the river largely receives most of its water from Haryana, including water from drains that bring effluents.

NGT has been hearing a plea filed by Intach since 2018, which sought the declaration of the jheel as a notified wetland. The petition also sought other measures for its protection, citing that the lake was gradually being polluted.

Responding to a submission by the Haryana government on January 9, 2025, Intach said record dating as far back as 1882 show an excessive area of inundation stretching nearly 1,772 acres.

Further, it said the 1936 and 1964 Survey of India maps both show Najafgarh Jheel “north of Gurgaon”. The affidavit also attached satellite images from the years 1965, 1972, 1977, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2009, 2010 – all depicting the jheel.

“That the above maps and imageries conclusively show that the Najafgarh Jheel is located as a trans boundary wetland between Haryana and Delhi and that the Najafgarh Jheel continued to exist as a wetland recorded since the 19th century CE, well before 2010, contrary to the claim of State Wetland Authority of Haryana. It is further submitted that most of these imageries have been supplied by the State of Haryana itself,” said the submission.

In August last year, Haryana in another affidavit had said it would only be notifying around 75 acres of “submerged land” as the Najafgarh Jheel on its side.

Hitting out at Haryana’s claims that the lake was expanding and filling up with sewage, Intach said that Haryana’s latest submission reveals that the lake swelled to as much as 3,800 acres in 2010.

“As per their own submission the area of submergence even as late as September 2021 was 2048 acres and on November 2021, 1667 acres,” said the report by Intach , submitted by its principal director Manu Bhatnagar.

Intach has requested the NGT to now issue directions to Haryana, asking it to prepare a brief document which should be submitted to the Union environment ministry for its notification as a trans boundary wetland, considering a submergence core zone of 209m (917 acres). Further, the buffer zone should be up to 211m, it had said.

The Najafgarh Jheel wetland, the second-largest in the NCR, is a critical habitat for resident and migratory water birds but faces escalating environmental pressures and human activity. The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) 2025 data indicated that Najafgarh Jheel recorded 82 bird species this year—up from 64 in 2024— while the total count of birds fell from 6,004 to 3,650.

Experts attributed the decline to multiple factors including global climate change, illegal fishing, encroachment, and excessive water extraction for agriculture. Another persistent issue is the construction of the Massani Barrage on the Sahibi river, which has significantly reduced the water inflow that sustains the wetland during drier months. In addition, sewage drains continue to pollute the lake, degrading the water quality and threatening birdlife.