49.9 hectares of pond area encroached in Gautam Budh Nagar, NGT told

In the latest filing, the district administration has detailed the progress of this exercise across three tehsils—Dadri, Sadar, and Jewar — covering a total of 1,018 ponds in Gautam Budh Nagar

GREATER NOIDA: The Gautam Budh Nagar administration in a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has stated that 49.9 hectare of the total original pond area (461.8107 hectares) across the district has been identified to be under encroachment.

During the March 19 hearing, the tribunal had taken note of a previous status report filed by the district magistrate, which had detailed restoration and anti-encroachment actions in all three tehsils, including the use of drone surveys, legal proceedings under the UP Revenue Code, and awareness campaigns. (HT Photos)

The information was shared in a fresh compliance report by the administration to the green tribunal, outlining the status of water bodies in the district and the steps taken to verify their original area as per the 1359 Fasli records (an old revenue record system used for land and agricultural data during the mid-20th century).

The report has been submitted in continuation of the tribunal’s order dated March 19, 2025, wherein, the NGT had directed the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate to ascertain the original area of each pond on the basis of 1359 Fasli records and report on the encroachment status accordingly.

The report notes that the work of verifying pond areas, based on the 1359 Fasli records, is currently underway and expected to be completed in the next few months. “We are verifying the original area of water bodies based on 1359 Fasli records as directed by the tribunal. We are committed to restoring water bodies across all three tehsils through coordinated legal and field-level action,” said district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma.

In the latest filing, the district administration has detailed the progress of this exercise across three tehsils—Dadri, Sadar, and Jewar — covering a total of 1,018 ponds in Gautam Budh Nagar.

As per the tehsil-wise breakdown, Dadri has 480 ponds, with a total original area of 227.5292 hectares, of which 16.922 hectares are encroached. Sadar accounts for 245 ponds, spread over 111.2835 hectares, with 30.2558 hectares under encroachment while Jewar has 293 ponds, covering 122.998 hectares, with 2.8163 hectares found encroached, the report states.

To be sure, during the March 19 hearing, the tribunal had taken note of a previous status report filed by the district magistrate, which had detailed restoration and anti-encroachment actions in all three tehsils, including the use of drone surveys, legal proceedings under the UP Revenue Code, and awareness campaigns.

Subsequently, the tribunal had directed all concerned authorities, including Noida and Greater Noida authority to file their updated progress reports at least one week in advance.

The case was entered in NGT in February 2022 by Noida resident Abhisht Kusum Gupta. The matter will be heard for further proceedings on Thursday.