Protect, notify Najafgarh lake: NGT to Haryana, Delhi

A principal bench of the tribunal in an order dated September 17 said, “In view of the fact that there is a large transboundary water body, which falls partly in Delhi and partly in Haryana, it will be appropriate that an environment-management plan be prepared by the state of Haryana and the NCT of Delhi.”

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Delhi and Haryana governments to jointly prepare an ‘environment management plan’ to notify and protect the Najafgarh lake, which falls partly in south-west parts of the city and partly in the neighbouring state.

The NGT said the plan should be prepared within three months. (Arvind Yadav/HT file photo)

A principal bench of the tribunal in an order dated September 17 said, “In view of the fact that there is a large transboundary water body, which falls partly in Delhi and partly in Haryana, it will be appropriate that an environment-management plan be prepared by the state of Haryana and the NCT of Delhi.”

A host of migratory bird species such as painted stork, sarus crane and black-necked stork among other flock to the around 7 sq km Najafgarh lake located on the Delhi-Haryana border every year.

The NGT said the plan should be prepared within three months. “The ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEF&CC) may steer the proceedings of the said plan with the assistance of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which may coordinate as a nodal agency,” the order stated.

In a report submitted to the NGT on September 17, the Gurugram district magistrate said as per revenue records, there is no water body in the area. The area is partly government land and partly private. “However, factually, there is a large water body in existence and a management plan is under consideration of the state,” the report submitted before the panel stated.

In 2017, the Haryana government had told the NGT and submitted a brief document in the MoEF&CC, saying that the water body in question was a lake and that the state was in the process of notifying it as a wetland.

Historically, the Najafgarh lake used to get water from the Sahibi river, which used to flow from Rajasthan.

Manoj Misra, convenor of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan said the lake is connected to the river Yamuna. “The lake used to get flooded during monsoons and to drain out the excess water, the Najafgarh drain was created. The lake now carries sewage from Gurugram and other parts of Haryana, which goes into the drain. The lake is spread over two states and has a rich biodiversity and needs to be conserved. The court order is a welcome step. Conservation of the water body will preserve the rich habitat as well as help recharge groundwater and become a source of water for Gurugram, which has a low water table.”

In October last year, the Delhi government’s Wetland Authority had written to Haryana, urging it to provide a plan for declaring it as a wetland. At the same time, the Delhi government had also ordered an extensive survey of the area around the lake on its side in southwest Delhi to assess the area covered by its water. .

In 2014, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, an NGO, had filed a plea in the NGT to conserve and protect the Najafgarh lake, after which the court had asked the Delhi and Haryana governments to take steps in the direction.