Jhuggis, temple on waterbody, NGT orders removal, restoration

The water body is recorded as a johad in revenue records, and the 2018-19 Jamabandi cited by MCG confirmed this Gurgaon : National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered removal of encroachments — seven jhuggis, a temple and a masonry platform — found on a nearly 2.5-acre water body in Fatehpur Jharsa, along with restoration and rejuvenation of the pond. A govt demarcation also found a road and footpath built by Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) over about 1,077 sq yards of the land. The order was passed on Aug 24 by a bench of Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vel, disposing of the original application with directions for removal and restoration. The water body is recorded as a johad in revenue records, and the 2018-19 Jamabandi cited by MCG confirmed this. The demarcation report found the seven jhuggis occupying about 275 sq yards on a govt-built bund meant to store water, along with a 39 sq yard temple and a five sq yard masonry platform, and named seven people in connection with the jhuggis. HSVP told the tribunal that the land had been acquired through notifications issued in 2003 and 2004 for development of residential and commercial Sector 47, with possession handed to its estate officer in Dec 2005. It said the encroachments had come up after a May 25, 2015 status quo order of Punjab and Haryana high court, passed in a separate case challenging the land's acquisition, and that it would remove them according to law once the status quo lifted. The order was passed on Aug 24 by a bench of Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vel, disposing of the original application with directions for removal and restoration NGT rejected this defence, holding that the status quo order did not protect constructions in the pond area. The case reached NGT in 2023 after a complaint alleged encroachment, waste dumping, unauthorised jhuggis and cattle grazing around the water body, along with a shrinking effective area. A joint committee of the district administration and Haryana State Pollution Control Board inspected the site on Sept 26 that year and found the water body existing in a 'narrow shape' compared with its area in revenue records, holding MCG responsible for its maintenance, cleaning, rehabilitation and removal of encroachments. The tribunal's proceedings also show early gaps in the administration's response. In Oct 2025, NGT described an HSVP submission as 'materially deficient' for not detailing the encroached area, the encroachers' names, or action taken against them, and sought a fuller response — which led to the detailed demarcation report submitted later. MCG told the tribunal that it had since developed the site in coordination with GMDA and NGO SEEDS, including fencing, a peripheral footpath, an open gym and benches, with GMDA providing a treated-water connection from the Behrampur sewage treatment plant. GMDA said it was neither the owner nor in possession of the land and had only provided the water connection. NGT grounded its order in Supreme Court precedent on common resources — Hinch Lal Tiwari vs Kamala Devi, which held that ponds are public utilities for common use and cannot be allotted or commercialised, and Jagpal Singh vs State of Punjab, on restoring unauthorised occupation of common land for community use. The disappearance of Jharsa's water bodies is not new. A 2020 TOI report had documented a similar case in nearby Fazilpur, Jharsa village, where more than 80% of a nearly two-acre pond was found encroached upon and two buildings had come up after the area was filled with soil — Google imagery from 2017 to 2020 showing the catchment being filled and built over even as revenue records continued to show a water body there. An MCG official had then said the civic body would examine whether construction permissions had been obtained. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Gurgaon | Silver Rate in Gurgaon | Bank Holidays in Gurgaon | Public Holidays in Gurgaon | Gurgaon AQI | Weather in Gurgaon | Petrol Price in Gurgaon | Diesel Price in Gurgaon | CNG Price in Gurgaon | LPG Price in Gurgaon Stay updated with the latest Gurgaon news. Download the TOI App.