NGT seeks environment plan for Najafgarh Jheel

While hearing a plea on declaration of the Najafgarh Jheel as a water body, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Delhi and Haryana governments to prepare an environment plan within three months to prevent encroachment and construction in the area.

A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to oversee the proceedings for preparation of the Environment Management Plan along with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

“In view of the fact that there is a large trans-boundary water body which partly falls in Delhi and partly in Haryana, it will be appropriate that an Environment Management Plan is prepared jointly by the States of Haryana and NCT Delhi,” the Bench said, adding that the CPCB may coordinate as a nodal agency.

The directions came when the green panel was hearing a plea moved by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, which sought execution of a 2017 NGT order. The plea had contended that authorities had failed to take appropriate steps to curb encroachment.