Third-party audit to determine Najafgarh Jheel area in Haryana: NGT

NGT orders a third-party audit of Najafgarh Jheel's size after Haryana claims 75 acres as wetland, amid disputes over its true area of 2,048 acres.

New Delhi

NGT issued the directions in a plea filed by INTACH in 2018. (Representative photo/HT Archive)

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) called for an independent third-party audit of the Najafgarh Jheel by the National Wetland Authority (NWA) of India to determine the size of the lake in Haryana, after the Haryana State Wetland Authority said in an affidavit that it identified 75 acres of the jheel to declare as a wetland.

The directions for the audit were issued by NGT chairperson justice Prakash Shrivastava on objections raised by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in February, questioning the figure and contending that the area under submergence was 2,048 acres in 2021.

In an order dated May 1, NGT said: “Learned Counsel for the applicant has submitted that the area of Najafgarh lake on the Haryana side is much larger than 75 acres. He has referred to the satellite image of 2021, to show that the water spread on September 24, 2021, was 2,048 acres. He has also referred to the satellite image to show that in November 2021, the water spread was 1,667 acres and has pointed out the image on page 849 which shows that the water spread ranges from 200 acres to 2,048 acres between 2014 to 2021.”

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 the lake was gradually getting polluted over time.

“Hence, we direct the applicant to implead the National Wetland Authority (NWA) in this execution application through the Chairman and serve the same,” the NGT said, seeking a report from the NWA at least a week before the next hearing on September 4.

Delhi, despite having 1,367 water bodies on paper, has yet to notify a single wetland. The Najafgarh Jheel, which connects to the Yamuna via the Najafgarh drain, is a key water body for the Capital, with experts and activists calling for its legal protection and demarcation for long.