The National Green Tribunal (NGT), on April 4, 2025, directed the authorities to file their responses to complaints regarding illegal groundwater extraction along the Yamuna riverbed in Delhi.
The tribunal ordered that notices be issued to the Delhi Jal Board, Central Ground Water Authority, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Central Pollution Control Board and the District Magistrate (East Delhi).
The original application was registered suo motu based on a news article titled Deep Dive into Illegal Water Business, published in the newspaper The Times of India on April 2, 2025.
A clandestine and large-scale operation of illegal borewell-based water extraction is underway during the night, involving an organised network of tankers siphoning off groundwater, according to the article.
Heavy machinery such as earthmovers are used to dig these borewells, with the extracted water being sold to unauthorised buyers, it stated.
The extraction process is highly organised, the newspaper claimed. At night, workers operate multiple borewells connected to underground pipelines and powerful submersible pumps. Water is continuously pumped into large tankers, each taking approximately 30 minutes to fill.
On April 4, 2025, the NGT asked the vice-chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to assist the tribunal in the matter concerning the construction of a highway by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) over a waterbody in Delhi. The next hearing has been scheduled for August 8, 2025.
In its submission, the DPCC confirmed the allegation that the NHAI has built a highway (flyover) over a pond in Goyla Khurd village. The pond is a listed waterbody under the Wetland Authority of India and was handed over by the DDA to the NHAI. The DDA has not yet filed a response.
Counsel representing the DDA informed the tribunal that, despite six reminders, no clear instructions have been issued to file a reply. He added that senior officers — the Deputy Director, Land Management and the Executive Engineer, Engineering Department — were required to appear before the tribunal to provide assistance but failed to do so.
The NGT also expressed displeasure with the vague and cryptic reply submitted by the NHAI on January 31, 2025. The NHAI contended that the land acquisition in Goyla Khurd was carried out by the DDA and it had no role in that process. It also claimed compliance with the provisions of the EIA Notification, 2006. Counsel for the NHAI assured the tribunal that a comprehensive response would be filed within four weeks.
The application was registered suo motu. The allegation is that the NHAI has constructed the Urban Extension Road-II over the pond in Goyla Khurd, which is among thousands of protected ponds listed.
On April 3, 2025, the eastern bench of the NGT directed that notice be issued to the West Bengal government regarding the alleged illegal auction of sand blocks within the Subarnarekha river in Jhargram district.
The Kolkata office of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change was also directed to file a response.
The applicant alleged that the West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Ltd had floated tenders on December 20, 2024, for an e-auction to select a mine developer and operator for several sand blocks in the Subarnarekha river for a period of five years. The e-auction was scheduled for January 24, 2025, involving 13 sand blocks.
The applicant contended that these sand blocks lie within the river itself, not merely on its bed. Such allotments, it is argued, risk damaging the river and its surrounding sands.
It was further claimed that one of the sand blocks in Sijua mouza, Gopiballabpur, lies in close proximity to a dam that protects a densely populated area from floods and other river hazards. The applicant, Ashok Khamri, stated that illegal sand removal near the dam and transportation by overloaded vehicles, would degrade the riverbed, damage the banks and lower water levels in the surrounding areas.