India, July 10 -- New Delhi

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) rapped the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and imposed a cost of Rs.50,000 for repeatedly seeking adjournments in a case related to illegal groundwater extraction by hotels in the Capital.

In an order dated July 7, a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava described the water utility's conduct to be "not bonafide" and said the cost of Rs.50,000 be used to purchase environmental books for the NGT Bar room.

The tribunal was hearing an execution application filed to ensure compliance of a 2018 order, passed in a case filed by activist Shailesh Singh, alleging that several hotels, including a well-known five-star hotel in New Friends Colony, illegally draw groundwater....