Editor Mr.Mayank Rawat ( Chief Editor Mr. Rohit Mishra )
New Delhi: The maintenance of the pond cannot be delayed due to any dispute between the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), said the National Green Tribunal (NGT), directing the MCD to clean the Ayanagar pond in coordination with the DDA.
The tribunal is examining the issue of cleaning a pond in Ayanagar village, following a complaint by a local resident in Nov 2023. The plea alleged that the village pond located at Khasra number 1706 in Ayanagar was being filled with municipal solid waste and debris. The complaint also mentioned that the water was drying up, and the pond was losing its identity.
After the NGT requested action reports from the relevant agencies, both DDA and MCD denied responsibility for the pond’s rejuvenation. In a report dated March 21, DDA stated that during an inspection on Feb 14, it was found that the pond was part of Khasra number 1704, not 1706, and was transferred to the erstwhile South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which has since merged with the MCD. DDA further noted that SDMC (now MCD) was responsible for the maintenance of the pond under possession proceedings from June 10, 2021.
In contrast, the MCD argued that DDA was the land-owning authority and that MCD was only responsible for developing a park in the area, as the pond’s land had never been transferred to the MCD.
The tribunal, headed by justice Prakash Shrivastava, in an order dated March 24, stated: “The issue of maintenance of the pond cannot be kept pending on account of any dispute between the DDA and MCD without the action to clean it.” The bench directed the MCD to continue cleaning the pond with DDA’s cooperation.
Furthermore, a report from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), which convened a meeting on May 13 with both MCD and DDA, informed NGT that DDA was instructed to ensure the pond’s cleaning with the MCD in a time-bound manner. The DPCC was tasked with inspecting the pond and submitting an analysis of the water samples and the pond’s status within six weeks.
Mayank Rawat
