NGT notice to Noida DM on plea by owners of unauthorised farmhouses

The plea said that the administration neither followed proper flood control regulations nor increased the height of the boundary between river and villages

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate (DM) to take remedial measures to address the grievances of the owners of unauthorised farmhouses in several villages in the Yamuna floodplains, who had filed a petition seeking compensation for damage caused to their property due to the floods in July.

\A farmhouse submerged by Yamuna floodwaters in Sector 135 in Noida on July 19. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The plea, filed shortly after the floods in July by owners of properties in villages such as Doshpur Mangrauli Khadar, Chak Mangrola, Nangli Bahrampur, Assadullapur, and Kidawali, said that the floods were not a natural calamity but a man-made disaster caused by the inaction of the district administration.

The plea said that the administration neither followed proper flood control regulations nor increased the height of the boundary between the river and the villages, due to which water from the Yamuna entered their farmhouses. When the floodwaters receded, the administration made no effort to remove the sludge and sewage left behind, which resulted in pollution and health hazards, the plea said.

“Floods in Yamuna in July resulted in severe damage to the villages, which was due to inaction on the part of the local administration, which failed to take preventive measures. So, we have reached out to NGT,” said Manoj Singh, a petitioner.

“The applicant has submitted that after the floodwaters receded, sludge was lying on the spot, and the dust resulted in pollution and health hazards. The Gautam Budh Nagar DM is directed to consider the applicants’ grievances without any delays and take necessary remedial measures,” the NGT bench said.

“We have yet to read the entire NGT order. However, the area in the floodplain is restricted for any type of construction according to NGT guidelines, so all these farmhouses are unauthorised and built in restricted areas. We will analyse the NGT order and work according to the rules,” said DM Manish Kumar Verma.

Floods in the Yamuna and its tributary, the Hindon, in July had submerged 17 villages (1,600 hectares of land) and displaced more than 3,000 people. Reportedly, there are hundreds of farmhouses on the floodplains of the Yamuna.