SC sets aside NGT order on Najafgarh lake rejuvenation

New Delhi, August 5

The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which delegated the issue of rejuvenation of the Najafgarh lake to a committee headed by the Delhi Lieutenant Governor.

A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Sanjay Karol noted that by its February 16 order, the NGT had disposed of a plea filed by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) without going into the merits saying that the tribunal would deal with the matter in some other case.

The top court set aside the order of the NGT on procedural grounds and said INTACH’s plea ought to have been heard by the tribunal along with all other petitions dealing with the issue of Najafgarh lake rejuvenation.

“Therefore, in our view, the tribunal has committed error by disposing of the said application. Accordingly, we pass the following order: That part of paragraph 11 of the impugned order by which Execution Application…and other pending applications therein were disposed of, is set aside…”

On July 6, the top court had sought the response of the Delhi government on the plea filed by NGO INTACH.

Advocate Akash Vashishtha, appearing for INTACH said the tribunal, by its order dated February 16, had disposed of the execution application filed by it, reducing the entire matter related to the notification of the Najafgarh Jheel (lake) as a wetland and consequent protection thereof, to a simple case of pollution alone, and delegating the entire matter to a committee headed by L-G for areas in Delhi and to the Chief Secretary, Haryana.

INTACH is a non-profit organisation dedicated to heritage awareness and preservation. The NGO has sought direction to the Delhi and Haryana Governments to declare the Najafgarh lake as a water body/wetland.