New Delhi, July 9 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognisance based on a media report highlighting the disappearance of 37 out of 172 water bodies in Ahmedabad and initiated proceedings on the issue.

The report, drawing from data by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), cites unregulated urban expansion and inadequate recognition of these water bodies in formal planning documents as key reasons behind their vanishing.

A bench led by Justice Prakash Shrivastava (Chairperson) and Expert Member Dr. A. Senthil Vel observed that the AMC's internal findings highlighted rampant encroachment and repurposing of lakes, enabled by their omission from statutory development plans. This oversight has facilitated unauthoris...