NGT Seeks Fresh Compliance Report as Illegal Dairy Farms Continue on Yamuna Floodplains
The National Green Tribunal has directed the MCD and DPCC to submit fresh compliance reports after finding continued illegal dairy activities on the Yamuna floodplains despite earlier orders. The tribunal criticised poor enforcement, set a six-week deadline for action reports, and stressed stronger measures to protect the ecologically sensitive river corridor.
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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has expressed strong displeasure over the continued operation of illegal dairy farms on the Yamuna floodplains, observing that its previous directions have not been fully implemented despite repeated enforcement drives by authorities.
A Bench comprising NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to submit fresh action-taken reports after inspections revealed persistent violations in the ecologically sensitive floodplain areas.
The order, passed recently, came while hearing a petition alleging non-compliance with the Tribunal's April 2024 directions to remove illegal dairy farms from the Yamuna floodplain, including those operating in Chak Chilla village near Mayur Nature Park.
According to a status report submitted by the DPCC, inspections in the protected O-Zone—where construction is prohibited—found temporary cattle sheds, fodder storage, heaps of cattle dung and nearly 50-60 bovine animals grazing in open grasslands below the DND Flyover, along the Namo Bharat RRTS corridor and near New Friends Colony.
"The reply of the DPCC reveals that the order of the Tribunal has not been complied with," the Bench observed, noting that while permanent structures had largely been demolished, illegal dairy operators had shifted to temporary arrangements and continued their activities.
During the hearing, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) informed the Tribunal that it had carried out repeated demolition drives but encroachers returned soon after by setting up makeshift cattle sheds beneath flyovers and other locations. The DDA maintained that the MCD and the Animal Husbandry Department were responsible for impounding cattle but had failed to act despite being informed.
The Tribunal has granted six weeks to the MCD to file an updated compliance report and directed the DPCC to review its enforcement strategy, consider imposing penalties on repeat offenders in line with Central Pollution Control Board guidelines, and submit a progress report before the next hearing scheduled for September 25, 2026.
