While Delhi grapples with the rampant depletion and misuse of its water bodies, a fresh case of encroachment on a pond has emerged in the capital. And this time, the violator is a government agency.
At the Naraina pond area, which is next to the Ring Road and under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department, Newslaundry has found the construction of nearly 100-metre concrete road. This road is along the pond and on a dirt track leading to a treatment plant. We also found construction debris scattered across dried earth, solid waste in official bins, discharge of sewage into the water body, and the remains of uprooted trees.
The alleged culprit? The Delhi Cantonment Board, which has continued to expand its footprint around the area, and whose concrete road for landscape development is only the latest violation.
Notably, the construction of concrete infrastructure within 50 metres of the waterbody directly violates Wetland Rules established in 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The National Green Tribunal had also prohibited the concretisation of water bodies.
The Public Works Department, despite holding official ownership through revenue records, has appeared to be passive in defending its territory. When contacted about the encroachments, a PWD official suggested the DCB would be better placed to respond.
A letter linked to the construction of the concrete road states the project was to “repair” a road and the contract, worth Rs 48 lakh, was awarded to M/s Puja Construction Company. The DCB had already established a sewage sump station on the dry portion of the waterbody land.
When contacted, a representative of M/s Puja Construction Company confirmed the execution of the tender, adding that it was awarded by the DCB. They referred Newslaundry to DCB Executive Engineer Alkesh Sharma for further details. However, repeated attempts to contact Sharma elicited no response at the time of filing this report.
Newslaundry also mailed questionnaires to the DCB CEO and the PWD engineer-in-chief. This report will be updated if they respond.
Newslaundry had found out about the incident after a local resident, Aditya Tanwar, approached the Delhi High Court against the construction. The court issued a notice on May 14. “This road is just the latest encroachment on the waterbody,” Tanwar claimed. “Since 2016, the Cantonment Board has carried out other encroachments here.”
A long battle
Located beside the Ring Road near Naraina Village, the pond remained largely intact until around 2012, according to satellite images. Since then, it has steadily deteriorated.
The original size of the waterbody land was 16.5 acres. Government records show this land was handed over to PWD after it was acquired from private owners in 1960 for constructing approaches to a road-over-bridge across the Delhi-Gurgaon railway line. Although initially cultivable, soil excavation for the railway bridge created a depression that naturally filled with water, forming the waterbody. According to official documents, 4.5 acres of this land was later allotted to the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation for building a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP). Of the remaining area, 2.5 acres were encroached until 2004, when the PWD removed and rehabilitated the encroachers.
There has been a tussle between the DCB and the public works department over the pond area. In a 2022 meeting between representatives of the DCB, SDM Delhi Cantonment, and PWD, a DCB representative admitted the board had no ownership documents for the land. Yet, the official recommended reconvening the meeting with the Defence Estate Officer of Delhi Cantonment and the Station Commander to trace relevant ownership records. This meeting was never reconvened.
According to revenue records, the ownership of the land rests with the PWD. But today, near the gate of the treatment plant along Ring Road, two boards are visible – one put up by the PWD and the other by the DCB. Both claim ownership of the land and warn against trespassing or encroachment.
Previous rejuvenation attempts
Following directions from the Delhi High Court in 2009, the Delhi Chief Secretary had approved a restoration plan in 2010. The Irrigation and Flood Control Department was tasked with developing 7.73 acres of wet and marshy land while maintaining the remaining 4.2 acres of dry land as a green buffer zone.
The 7.73 acre land was formally handed over to the I&FC Department in 2012, with plans for dredging, stabilising the reservoir, construction of trail and setting up of benches. However, the project never moved beyond the paperwork. According to a 2018 response by the Delhi government in the assembly, the I&FC ultimately returned the land to the PWD in 2016, citing its inability to make progress due to the persistent discharge of sewage water into the waterbody.
In 2010, during the chief secretary’s meeting, it was noted that the DCB was discharging untreated sewage into the waterbody. It was decided that the board would temporarily connect its sewage lines to the Delhi Jal Board’s main sewer line and construct a sewage treatment plant on its own land as a long-term solution. However, to this day, untreated or partially treated sewage from the DCB allegedly continues to flow into the waterbody.
“NGT guidelines clearly say no sewage can be discharged into a waterbody. But the Cantonment Board seems indifferent to government rules or regulations,” alleged Tanwar.
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