Delhi High Court issues notice in response to a PIL challenging alleged illegal construction of Urban Extension Road II on pond land

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) contesting the alleged illegal building of Urban Extension Road II across the village pond property in Goyla Khurd, in the Southwest District of Delhi, has been addressed by the Delhi High Court with a notice.

As the city struggles with pollution, heat waves, groundwater depletion, and climate change, the building, which was completed between 2018 and 2024, is apparent in Google satellite imagery and raises worries about the loss of natural resources essential for environmental sustainability. pleaded

This development took place over nine years after the court’s 2013 judgment, which mandated the cancellation of all pond and waterbody land allotments and the allocation of replacement land, according to the petition filed by the Centre for Youth Culture Law and Environment via Advocate Paras Tyagi. According to the PIL, it was possible to prevent the development in this instance by avoiding such environmentally critical regions.

The case was scheduled for a detailed hearing in March 2025 after the bench of Justices Manmohan and Tushar Rak Gedela requested responses from all respondents, including the Delhi Government, NHAI, and DDA, among others.

According to the appeal, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Delhi Government’s Revenue Department are among the respondents who have continuously neglected to safeguard the nation’s capital’s essential natural resources. They built a sizable section of the Urban Extension Road II across the Goyla Khurd village pond in 2022. Satellite imagery shows that this was done deliberately, notwithstanding the 2002 rulings from the Delhi High Court and the 2013 directives that followed.

Additionally, the petition argues that the respondents willfully disregarded the court’s instructions and environmental concerns by willfully ignoring these court directions.