GREATER NOIDA, Aug. 1 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Noida and Greater Noida authorities to furnish a comprehensive report detailing the people, properties, and locations involved in unauthorised construction activities in their jurisdictions. The directive came during a July 28 hearing of an ongoing petition highlighting large-scale environmental violations in the region. The case pertains to a petition filed in March 2024 by environmental activist and former municipal corporator Rajendra Tyagi, who flagged illegal residential and commercial development in 56 villages along the GT Road in Chhapraula region, Greater Noida. These constructions, according to the plea, are being carried out without environmental clearances, approved layout plans, or the mandatory "Consent to Establish" (CTE) and "Consent to Operate" (CTO) under the Water and Air Acts. An NGT bench comprising justice Prakash Shrivastava (chairperson), justice Sudhir Agarwal (judicial member), and A Senthil Vel (expert member) noted: "In terms of the earlier direction, reply affidavit dated March 26, 2025, has been filed by Noida. In that affidavit though it is vaguely stated that action has been taken against such illegal construction but details of the persons/projects/properties/places against whom action has been taken have not been disclosed." It observed that the affidavit submitted by the Noida authority failed to clearly present the scale of illegal activity or the action taken. The photographs annexed with the affidavit dated much prior to the filing of the petition. Similar directions were issued to the Greater Noida authority and district magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar, to file detailed affidavits on the steps undertaken to check such constructions. The tribunal also asked the District Ground Water Management Council to place its response on record. The UP Pollution Control Board has also been instructed to conduct an extensive inspection of the affected areas, and identify projects violating environmental norms. During Monday's hearing, advocate Akash Vashishtha, appearing for the petitioner, alleged an "active collusion" between private developers and local authorities. The NGT had earlier restrained all unauthorised construction in the region in its December 2024 order and had issued notices to multiple stakeholders in April 2024. The petitioner claims that over 20,000 hectares of arable farmland in Greater Noida have already been encroached, while a similar scale is being used for illegal plotting in Noida. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on October 8, 2025....