New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought response of the Centre and civic bodies here seeking cancellation of the approval granted by the DDA to allot land at Sonia Vihar and Ghonda Gujran areas to set up landfill sites.

A bench, headed by Acting Chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim, issued a notice to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Central Pollution Control Board,  Delhi Pollution Control Committee, East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and sought their reply before May 14, the next date of hearing.

The Supreme Court had on May 4 stayed the proceedings related to the landfill sites at Ghazipur and Bhalswa in Delhi pending before the green panel.

The tribunal's notice came on a petition filed by Ghonda legislator S.D. Sharma and others seeking a direction to restrain the DDA from allotting an area of 130 acres at Sonia Vihar and a 50-acre plot at Ghonda Gujran to the EDMC for handling and processing waste.

The petition, filed through advocate Abhinav Singh, said that if the project is started by the East Delhi corporation for landfill sites at the two areas, it will adversely affect the ecosystem and the overall ecology since there are several densely populated colonies nearby.

It said that the approval given on the recommendation of the Central Pollution Control Board  (CPCB) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) was based on wrong facts and that it violated the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

The petition also sought a direction to the authority to cancel the allotment of lands in question falling within the active floodplain of the Yamuna.

The plea further asked the green panel for a direction to the authorities to conduct a cumulative impact study to record the status of ecology and environment in the two areas.