Bus Depot on a Wetland? NGT Asks DDA to Explain Land Transfer to DTC in Najafgarh
An applicant before the NGT alleged that land in Najafgarh, officially recorded as a waterbody, had been encroached upon for the construction of a DTC bus terminal and commercial building;
The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Principal Bench, on August 20 heard an application alleging that nearly 30 bigha of land in Najafgarh recorded in the revenue register as a johar, or waterbody, has been encroached upon by the Delhi Transport Corporation for a bus terminal and an adjoining multistorey commercial complex.
The application by Kartar Singh and another contended that the land falling under six khasra numbers was owned by the gram sabha and retained the character of a waterbody in official records.
The District Magistrate, South West, filed an affidavit relying on the 2012–13 khatoni, which recorded Khasra Nos. 12/11, 12/12, 12/19, 23/5/1, 23/13/2 and 23/1 as johads covering a total of 30 bigha 5 biswa.
In response, DTC told the tribunal bench comprising Justice Prakash Shrivastava (Chairperson), Dr. A. Senthil Vel (expert member) and Dr. Prashant Gargava (expert member) that the land for the terminal had been allotted to it by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in 1998 and produced material from the Wetlands Authority of Delhi confirming that parts of the site were registered as wetlands.
The DDA put forward a different historical record, telling the tribunal that the area was declared urbanized in 1963, placed at DDA’s disposal in 1974 and thereafter assigned to DDA’s horticulture department in 1981.
In a further affidavit, DDA said that on May 31, 2016, the specific waterbody near the Najafgarh DTC terminal, along with several small parks, was handed over to the municipal corporation and that upkeep and preservation are now the municipal body’s responsibility.
Faced with these competing claims, the tribunal made clarificatory orders. It observed that the record, including the khatoni and the district magistrate’s affidavit, identified the listed khasras as johads and therefore asked DDA to set out clearly whether any portion of the waterbody shown in revenue records was lawfully transferred to DTC, and if so to provide precise documentary details.
The tribunal allowed DDA four weeks to file an affidavit by a competent officer and listed the matter for further hearing on November 14, 2025.
Case Title: Kartar Singh & Anr. Vs Govt of NCT of Delhi and Ors.
Order Date: August 20, 2025
Coram: Justice Prakash Shrivastava (Chairperson), Dr. A. Senthil Vel (Expert Member), and Dr. Prashant Gargava (Expert Member)