Demolish illegal structures built on community ponds: UP High Court

Vijay Upadhyay
Agra. Taking a strong stand on the lethargic approach of the Agra district administration towards freeing over 110 community ponds of the town from illegal encroachments, the UP High Court has sent a notice to the Agra administration, setting a deadline of July 13, for demolition of hundreds of commercial and residential buildings constructed on these ponds.
Following the High Court notice, the Agra administration held a meeting to discuss the situation arising from the notice.
According to DK Joshi, member, Supreme Court's Monitoring Committee on Environment, there were at least 110 ancient ponds in Agra that were listed in the revenue records, but the Agra administration in collusion with the land mafia, had allowed the ponds to be encroached by the builders.
Over the past few years, he said, almost all the ancient ponds had disappeared under large buildings both residential and commercial and the administration had done nothing to save them. The disappearance of these ponds could seriously disturb the ecological balance of the city.
He said that in the past five years alone, at least four large retention ponds of the town had been encroached, with the Agra district authorities fully aware of the encroachment.

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