No natural pond in Delhi’s Anand Puri, DDA tells NGT

The NGT has been hearing a plea filed by the Anand Puri Govind Garh Tank Road Residents’ Welfare Association last year, alleging that the Faith Academy School had encroached upon a park and a natural pond

Published on: Aug 14, 2025, 22:37:30 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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New Delhi

The matter is listed for hearing on August 18. (HT Archive)

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) told the National Green Tribunal that no natural pond exists at Anand Puri in Karol Bagh, where residents have alleged illegal construction and encroachments by a school. Responding to a petition seeking the reopening of a 100-foot road and encroachment of a park and pond, the DDA said the 45-acre tract was acquired in 1964-65, with no pond recorded in official documents.

“The land in question was a part of a larger land measuring 45 acres which was acquired...in the year 1964-65 and was later transferred to the answering Respondent. Further, it is pertinent to mention that the above mentioned award does not mention any existence of pond on the land in question as alleged by the applicant...” DDA said in a submission on August 12.

The authority said the only existing pond is in Prasad Nagar (Khasra 578), which was outside the disputed land.

The NGT has been hearing a plea filed by the Anand Puri Govind Garh Tank Road Residents’ Welfare Association last year, alleging that the Faith Academy School had encroached upon a park and a natural pond. The petition also sought the reopening of a 100-foot road, claiming its closure was forcing residents to take long detours, causing more pollution and congestion.

The DDA, in its submission, however, said it leased 1.5 acres to the school in 1981, along with 0.95 acres as a temporary playfield in 1984, which was marked as a “waterlogged area” at the time. A 2021 survey found the school occupying an additional 0.05 acres of the main plot and in possession of the entire playfield, despite the lease never being renewed. The DDA ordered the playfield’s vacation, but the high court stayed it in December 2021. DDA has also asked the NGT to consider dropping the case, as it is already in the high court.

The matter is listed for hearing on August 18.

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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