New Delhi: A pond near Wazirabad that was filled up was not a wetland, Delhi Development Authority recently submitted in National Green Tribunal, denying the existence of any such waterbody in official records.NGT has taken suo motu cognisance of a TOI report highlighting that a functioning wetland with active ecology was filled up using garbage by the authority and sought an explanation. The report, ‘Find it if you can. Wetland near Wazirabad vanished under inert waste’, published on July 16, 2025, stated that DDA had filled and levelled the waterbody for commercial purposes near Wazirabad with inert waste sourced from the Bhalaswa landfill through MCD.
DDA said it had bought the land from a private owner. The possession of two land parcels near Jharoda Majra metro station was taken by DDA from the land & building department of Delhi govt on Feb 14, 1983, the authority stated in its reply on Saturday. “Nowhere in the possession proceedings were the subject land parcels declared as ‘johad’. It is, therefore, evident that as far back as 1983, no waterbody existed on the said land parcels,” it claimed, adding that the land does not feature in the list of 1,047 notified wetlands by Delhi Wetland Authority.“That as per the reply dated Dec 6, 2025, received from the SDM (Model Town) and the tehsildar concerned, the land… was originally a private property, which was subsequently acquired by the answering respondent. Therefore, the land was not identified as a ‘johad’ in the revenue records as well,” stated DDA. It added that the land was filled using inert material, which was “residual, non-biodegradable and non-reactive matter” obtained after scientific processing and stabilisation of municipal solid waste. “Such material is free from organic content and does not generate leachate, odour or any harmful emissions.” Earlier, MCD informed NGT that it was the responsibility of the private concessionaire — appointed for flattening the landfill — to ensure that the inert material was disposed of correctly while also blaming DDA as the land-owning agency. Central Pollution Control Board, in another reply in 2025, said it was Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s responsibility to ensure solid waste rules were followed correctly.
