The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday ruled that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) violated environmental regulations in the construction of a section of the Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II), as it encroached upon a wetland in Goyla Khurd Village in south-west Delhi.
On August 17 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the UER-II, aimed at reducing travel time, easing traffic congestion within the city, and improving connectivity across the National Capital Region, along with the Delhi stretch of the Dwarka Expressway, vowing to transform the national capital into a “world-class city”.
Water body affected
“The Wetland Authority of Delhi in its reply has clarified that the water body of Village Goyla Khurd is a listed wetland and is required to be protected... Thus, it is clear that the NHAI by constructing 8 pillars has encroached upon an area of 2.36 sqm. of the pond, which comes to around 0.23% area of the pond,” read the NGT’s order on Monday.
The Principal Bench of the NGT, comprising chairperson Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A. Senthil Vel, issued the order in a case in which the green court took suo motu cognisance of a media report that the road is being constructed illegally over the waterbody and 80% of the pond had vanished.
