India, April 30 -- A total of 231 ponds/water bodies of the 1,075 identified in Ghaziabad district are encroached, and 77 of the encroached are due to public utilities such as religious places, roads, electricity houses, railway houses, crematoriums, etc., the Ghaziabad district administration has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in an affidavit.

Ghaziabad district magistrate (DM) Deepak Meena submitted the affidavit before the tribunal on April 28 following a petition filed by Himanshu Tyagi, a resident. He had contended that several water bodies in Muradnagar were encroached, and the area had reduced; besides, he also raised an issue of contamination of water bodies.

The NGT thereafter set up a joint committee, to be headed ...