India, June 30 -- The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it constructed a 1.2-kilometre-long flyover at an additional cost of Rs.60 crore to avoid disturbing a village pond in Goyla Khurd, southwest Delhi, during the construction of the Urban Extension Road-2 (UER-2).

Responding to the NGT's October 2023 suo motu proceedings, initiated after a media report alleged that a highway was being built over a protected water body, NHAI in its submission dated May 16 (uploaded June 28), said it had adhered to standard engineering practice by opting for a bridge to preserve the water body.

"It is a well-established engineering practice that a bridge is proposed over a highway if it passes t...