NGT Rules NHAI Failed to Disclose Waterbody Construction Plans

The National Green Tribunal ruled on 6 April 2026 that the National Highways Authority of India should have disclosed to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change its plan to construct eight pillars in a waterbody in Delhi's Goyla Khurd village. The Tribunal stated that developmental agencies are required to follow environmental clearance procedures regardless of competing infrastructure priorities.

The NGT found that the NHAI proceeded with construction of eight pillars in the waterbody at Goyla Khurd village without obtaining the necessary environmental approvals or disclosing this component of the project to the MoEFCC. The Tribunal noted that there is no dispute about the need to balance environmental protection with development, but emphasised that this principle does not exempt project proponents from following applicable legal requirements for environmental clearance.

The case reflects a recurring pattern before the NGT in which large infrastructure agencies proceed with construction in or adjacent to water bodies, wetlands and ecologically sensitive areas without completing required regulatory approvals. National Highways development across India frequently encounters such issues, as road alignment often intersects with water bodies and natural drainage systems. The Tribunal's ruling reinforces that disclosure obligations apply to all project components, not only those above ground.

The NHAI is expected to file a compliance response outlining how it intends to address the non-disclosure and what remedial environmental measures will be taken for the affected waterbody. The Tribunal may impose conditions on the ongoing construction phase. Environmental lawyers have cited the case as significant in establishing that infrastructure bodies cannot treat waterbody interventions as incidental to highway projects that would otherwise fall below the threshold for full environmental impact assessment.

Key figure — 8 pillars constructed in a Delhi waterbody without environmental clearance disclosure