When people in Delhi-NCR talk about water, wetlands, or trees, the name Vikrant Tongad often comes up. A law graduate who chose to use his training in the service of nature rather than the courtroom, he has spent more than a decade working on some of North India’s most pressing environmental issues. Through his organisation Social Action for Forest and Environment (SAFE), Vikrant has challenged illegal groundwater extraction, fought for the protection of wetlands like Surajpur, campaigned against stubble burning, and helped transform dumping grounds into biodiversity parks. Over the years, he has also revived more than ten ponds, converted over five dumping grounds into biodiversity parks and Miyawaki forests, and organised more than a hundred environmental and water awareness meetings — work that, as he says, “will only keep growing.”
Yet, beyond awards and labels like “water hero” or “environmentalist,” Vikrant describes himself simply: “I work as an environmental conservationist. After that, people can give any designation they want.”
Roots in a Village, Roots in Water
Vikrant grew up in a farming community in what is now Greater Noida. His childhood was marked by cattle grazing near ponds, monsoon rains filling fields, and the dense Surajpur Wetland just a short walk from his village.
By his teenage years, he noticed something was changing. Hand pumps that once provided drinking water began to run dry, and borewells were being drilled deeper and deeper. “Earlier, people used one or two litres of water for a task. With borewells, they started extracting 50 or 100 litres. It was being misused, and I was worried about what this meant for the future,” he recalls.
In 2010, he and a group of young people organised a water rally through nearby villages, carrying posters and urging people to save groundwater. “We told people: take out only as much water as you need. Do not waste it,” Vikrant says. That rally marked the beginning of his environmental journey.
Building SAFE
That same year, Vikrant and a group of volunteers formed SAFE (Social Action for Forest and Environment). The organisation was designed to be youth-led and community-driven. “SAFE was made because it is a volunteer-based, local community effort. People with farmer backgrounds and academic backgrounds came together,” Vikrant explains.
Over the years, SAFE’s reach has grown — from tree plantations and awareness drives in schools to policy advocacy and court petitions. The combination of community knowledge and legal tools became its strength.
From Courts to Campaigns
Vikrant’s activism has taken many forms. He has filed petitions that stopped builders from illegally draining groundwater, challenged the stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana that worsens Delhi’s winter air, and opposed pollution of rivers. “In the case of stubble burning, the government said they could not do anything. We went to the National Green Tribunal — and for the first time, there was a ban,” he says.
On the ground, his campaigns have been equally visible. The “De-Pave” movement removes unnecessary concrete around trees and open spaces, allowing rainwater to seep into the soil. In Greater Noida alone, his team has removed more than ten lakh tiles, protecting over 10,000 trees. “If you free the soil, the tree survives. It is simple. Thousands of trees fall every year because of concretisation. This is one way to give them back their strength,” he says.
Other efforts have turned dumping grounds into biodiversity parks. Sites that once held piles of garbage have been restored with native trees, transforming into green spaces for birds and communities alike.
Challenges Along the Way
Standing up against powerful builders, industries, and political interests has often brought threats. In one case, he says, “a construction company even filed a false FIR against me. I had to hide the newspaper from my family so they would not worry”.
Even today, pressures continue. But Vikrant has chosen a cautious path: “We work legally, with applications and petitions, never on verbal claims or social media anger. If you work properly, you get results,” he explains.
Lessons and Philosophy
For Vikrant, the environment is not just an issue but a responsibility. “Our earlier generations protected natural resources so that we could live. Now it becomes our responsibility to contribute something for nature,” he says.
He believes change begins locally: in neighbourhoods and villages where people see the impact of water shortage or tree loss first-hand. “My first priority is always local — ponds, tree cover, wetlands, groundwater. If we solve our nearby problems, larger change follows,” he reflects.
A Hopeful Note
Despite climate change and rapid urbanisation, Vikrant chooses optimism. He often reminds people that small daily actions add up. “Carry your own water bottle, avoid plastic, don’t leave the tap running. These may seem small, but they matter when everyone does them,” he says.
And his outlook is forward-looking: “I don’t aim to bring a big change on my own. If I can improve my local environment and contribute something meaningful, that is enough,” Vikrant says.
From the ponds of his childhood village to the biodiversity parks of today, his journey is proof that persistence, rooted in community, can protect the spaces that sustain us.
I have seen real action by Vikrantji, in dead heat of June in Noida. He deserves full support in everything he does for restoring waterborne, green covers etc.
May almighty give him great strength.