NEW DELHI: In the urbanised village of Budhela, near Vikaspuri in West Delhi, the construction of a cultural complex for the Sahitya Kala Parishad was continuing on the land where a pond once stood, the residents said.
In a recent letter addressed to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Tehsildar (Dwarka) noted that the said land was registered as ‘Johar ‘in revenue records. The term ‘Johar’ stands for a traditional village pond.
On August 13, this paper reported about the construction on the pond land.
“Since, village Budhela of Dwarka Sub-Division has been urbanized and DDA is the land-owning Department. Therefore, it is requested that further process of removal of encroachment may be carried out by DDA,” the letter read.
“Considering the above said facts and take necessary action according to the Rules and submit an action taken report to the office of District Magistrate,” it added.
Paras Tyagi, a village resident, said, “We are stuck between the DDA, which is the land-owning authority and the Delhi government which is managing the site. The DDA is not in a position to act against the construction as it not managing the land.”
Documents from the Delhi Parks and Gardens Society indicate that four ponds were originally listed in Budhela village, including the johar in question. In August 2021, the Wetland Authority of Delhi also included the pond in a list of 1,040 waterbodies identified and assigned unique identification numbers. The authority’s records show that the pond covered 0.6 hectares.
No response was received from the Sahitya Kala Parishad or the DDA on queries regarding the matter.