NGT stays work on Naharpur Kasan wetland plot in Manesar

A joint panel found the pond had been filled and a metal road was under construction during its July 17 inspection of the site.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday prohibited construction activities on a 6.93-acre plot of land in Manesar’s Naharpur Kasan acquired by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) after the land was found demarcated as a “gair mumkin johad”, or non-cultivable pond land, in the latest revenue records of 2023-24.

NGT stays work on Naharpur Kasan wetland plot in Manesar

Directing HSIIDC and other stakeholders to respond to a joint committee’s inspection report before the next hearing on October 5, the tribunal observed that a metal road was being constructed on the pond area during the committee’s July 17 inspection.

“The applicant has alleged that Khasra no. 41 is identified as a wetland, as per the revenue records and the national wetland atlas. The area was filled in order to do construction. Therefore, it is required to be protected,” said Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Dr Afroz Ahmed in their interim order.

HSIIDC had plotted the land for rehabilitation and resettlement colonies reserved for farmers whose lands were acquired for the development of the Industrial Model Township and nearby sectors. According to officials, around 250 allotments were planned in Naharpur Kasan and Nakhrola.

The entire pond area falls within the land parcel acquired by HSIIDC, officials said. It remains unclear whether the rehabilitation and construction plans were approved based on older revenue records that did not identify the land as a wetland or the updated 2023-24 records. HSIIDC is expected to address this in its response before the NGT.

The plea filed before the NGT in March alleged that construction activities violated the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010, and would adversely affect groundwater levels in the area.

The joint committee, comprising representatives of the Haryana Pond and Wastewater Management Authority, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest and the Deputy Commissioner, found that the pond had been completely filled and encroached upon and that a metal road had been established on it. Based on jamabandi records, it observed that the land was recorded as a non-cultivable pond between 1968-69 and 1988-89, and again in the latest revenue records of 2023-24.

A spot check on Wednesday found a 12-metre-wide road under construction on the land, while several partially built residential structures appeared abait wasoned.

A senior HSIIDC official, requesting anonymity, said planning for the settlement began over a decade ago following a 2006 land acquisition award. “Around 250 farmers are expected to benefit from the settlement planned over the two decades. Revenue records of the village obtained from 1993-94 to 2018-2019 had only mentioned the land as ‘gair mumkin’,” the official said.

While HSIIDC officials said a majority of the nearly 250 allotments have already been made, it remains unclear whether beneficiaries affected by the disputed land will be relocated or if the allotments will be cancelled. A final decision is yet to be taken by HSIIDC headquarters in Panchkula. The officia cited above added that the pond had dried up over the past three decades and that tenders for constructing three 400-metre roads were approved in June after plot allotments entered their final stages.

HSIIDC officials acknowledged that the acquisition process predates the Haryana Pond and Waste Water Management Act, 2018. Officials from its Planning, Estate and R&R divisions declined to comment on discrepancies between site plans and village land records.

Darshan Yadav, subdivisional magistrate of Manesar, said the joint committee used Differential Global Positioning System mapping to determine the wetland’s location, extent and overlap with the proposed rehabilitation colony. “It is now for HSIIDC to respond,” Yadav said.