NGT seeks full information on encroachment of Delhi’s water bodies

Seeking details of the nature and total area of encroachments on each water body, the tribunal has also asked the Delhi’s State Wetland Authority (DSWA) to specify the powers under which the land of the water bodies were allotted.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the Delhi’s State Wetland Authority (DSWA) to submit a common format of questions to all land-owning agencies who are yet to submit complete information on the city’s water bodies. Seeking details of the nature and total area of encroachments on each water body, the tribunal has also asked the DSWA to specify the powers under which the land of the water bodies were allotted.

NGT was hearing a plea on the preservation of water bodies in Delhi. (Hindustan Times)

A bench headed by NGT chairperson justice Prakash Shrivastava noted that any form of construction, encroachments or dumping waste in water bodies was a clear violation of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 and offenders could be penalised under Rule 4.

“In the next report, the respondent – Wetland Authority will also respond to the above issues and give details of initiation of action against the violators,” the bench said in its order dated December 15, adding the response needed at least one week before the next date of hearing on March 10, 2026.

“Wetland Authority is proposing to circulate a format in which the requisite information under all the relevant heads will be sought from all agencies or authorities owning these water bodies in Delhi. Besides, said format should include the heads seeking information about total area of the water body as per the revenue record, its geo-coordinates, area which is free from encroachment, area which has been dried up, area which has been encroached upon along with number of encroachers and details thereof and action plan, if any..” the bench added.

NGT was hearing a plea on the preservation of water bodies in Delhi. In February, it directed DSWA to ascertain the area of each water body and compare it to revenue records to identify the shrinkage.

In May this year, the tribunal had asked the Delhi SWA to submit within eight weeks a fresh report on the status of all water bodies in the Capital – complete with khasra numbers, total area, geo-coordinates and the type of encroachments, if any. The directions had come after a previous affidavit also had missing information on these parameters.

The latest submission from December 12 also said complete information was missing from all agencies.