NGT asks UP govt for details on encroachments at 50 ponds

The issue of encroachment drew specific attention from the tribunal after Greater Noida authority’s senior counsel pointed out that as many as 50 ponds were affected by encroachments

GREATER NOIDA: Taking a serious note of encroachments on 50 ponds in Gautam Budh Nagar district, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file a detailed affidavit disclosing original area of these water bodies, extent of encroachment, and names of encroachers.

The directions made on January 19 came from a principal bench headed by chairperson justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel while hearing a plea about destruction and damage of wetlands and water bodies in Gautam Budh Nagar and steps taken for their rejuvenation and restoration. (HT Archive)

The directions made on January 19 came from a principal bench headed by chairperson justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel while hearing a plea about destruction and damage of wetlands and water bodies in Gautam Budh Nagar and steps taken for their rejuvenation and restoration.

During the hearing, the Greater Noida authority (GNIDA) had submitted a status report on January 16, informing that 281 ponds fall within its jurisdiction, and categorised the ponds based on the stage of restoration and responsibility of different agencies.

The tribunal noted that action in respect of the 11 water bodies under public development works is required to be taken by the Public Works Department (PWD). Granting time to the state, the bench recorded: “Learned counsel appearing for the State of UP seeks four weeks’ time to verify and file the affidavit of the concerned officer of the PWD not below the rank of superintending engineer.”

The issue of encroachment drew specific attention from the tribunal after Greater Noida authority’s senior counsel pointed out that as many as 50 ponds were affected by encroachments. “It has also been pointed out that there are as many as 50 ponds covered by the clause ‘d’ where encroachment exists,” the order stated.

The Authority had placed on record a village-wise and khasra-wise list of the 50 encroached ponds, including ponds in Roja Jalalpur, Dhoom Manikpur, Khodna Khurd, Surajpur, Raipur Bangar, Chirsi, Ladpura, Roni, among other places.

The tribunal clarified that action on these 50 encroached ponds is to be taken by the district administration. Directing accountability, the bench ordered: “Counsel for the State of UP is directed to file affidavit of competent officer disclosing the area of these 50 ponds as per the original records and the extent of area which has been encroached upon and name of encroachers within four weeks”.

The bench has listed the matter for April 15 for further proceedings.

Meanwhile, the tribunal also examined a report filed by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida), which stated that 69 ponds fall under its jurisdiction in Sadar tehsil and 200 ponds in Jewar tehsil.

Yeida informed the bench that some ponds acquired for the Noida International Airport had been substituted with alternate water bodies. It claimed that eight artificial ponds measuring 6.4115 hectares were created in place of eight acquired ponds measuring 2.188 hectares, stating that the alternate ponds were 293% larger in area.

However, the tribunal referred to the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling which had examined the validity of the UP government order on June 3, 2016, permitting substitution of water bodies.

The bench directed Yeida and the state government to place on record a copy of the June 3, 2016 order and the statutory provision empowering the state to issue such an order.

The tribunal also came down heavily on the Noida authority for non-compliance with earlier directions. It noted that despite being directed on October 17, 2025 to file a fresh progress report, the Authority had merely submitted an index without enclosing the report.

“Though some documents along with index dated January 17, 2026 have been filed and the index states ‘progress report on behalf of Noida Authority’, but we do not find any progress report enclosed,” the bench said.

As a result, the tribunal imposed a cost of ₹10,000 on the Noida authority, directing it to deposit the amount with the registrar general of the tribunal within 10 days.

The tribunal has granted four weeks to the UP government, PWD and Yeida to file the required affidavits and documents, and listed the matter for April 15, 2026, for further proceedings.