NGT to DDA: Explain Goyla land transfer

Protected water bodies are legally designated under the Wetland Authority of India for management of their ecological health.

Published on: Feb 12, 2025, 04:45:14 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), seeking response on why a part of land of a water body in southwest Delhi’s Goyla Khurd was handed over to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to build an elevated road.

NGT to DDA: Explain Goyla land transfer (HT_PRINT)

NGT in October last year took suo moto cognisance of a news report that mentioned the NHAI had built a highway over a protected water body. Subsequently, notices were issued noticed to the NHAI, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the State Wetland Authority (SWA). NGT, in its February 6 order, said responses by the DPCC and NHAI suggest that the land belongs to DDA.

Protected water bodies are legally designated under the Wetland Authority of India for management of their ecological health.

Also Read: Deconcretise Yamuna on lines of Clean Ganga, NGT tells DDA

“DPCC has filed the reply on February 3, stating that NHAI has built a highway (flyover) over the pond in Goyla Khurd village and that it is a listed water body under the Wetland Authority of India. The land was handed over by DDA to the NHAI,” the bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, said.

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Noting a similar response from the highways authority, the NGT said the NHAI has mentioned that the land was given by the DDA after an environmental impact assessment was done and an Environmental Clearance (EC) was obtained. A copy of the EC from December 2021 was also submitted to the tribunal, NGT said.

“Since the NHAI and DPCC have disclosed that the land or pond belongs to the DDA, hence, we implead the DDA,” the bench ordered, asking DDA to file a response in four weeks’ time. The matter will be next heard on April 4.

Also Read: Chandigarh: NGT panel finds Ghaggar River unsafe for bathing

The SWA had told the NGT in December that nearly 50% of the identified water bodies in the city could not be found during ground-truthing process. According to the authority, there are 1,367 identified water bodies in Delhi — comprising 1,045 found using revenue records and 322 by the Geospatial Delhi Limited (GSDL) using satellite imagery data. Geospatial analytics is used to add timing and location to traditional data and to build data visualizations.

However, SWA had said that out of the 1,045 water bodies identified in 2021, only 631 were found on the ground, with the rest either missing or encroached upon. Besides, merely 43 of the 322 water bodies identified by GSDL were found on ground during the survey, it had added.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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