NEW DELHI: After more than 30 years, Delhi has finally completed the reserve forest notification for 4,080 hectares of the Southern Ridge, giving the area full legal protection and clearing the way for action against any encroachment, officials said. It is the largest forest area in Delhi to receive the final notification in one go.
“The Delhi government has finally completed the reserve forest notification for 4,080 hectares of the Southern Ridge -- a process that had remained stuck since the first declaration was issued in 1994,” an official said.
It is a major step toward fulfilling a three-decade-old legal requirement and complying with repeated National Green Tribunal (NGT) directives, the official said.
The final notification under Section 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 – published on October 24 and made public on Monday – gives full legal protection to two-thirds of the Southern Ridge, enabling immediate action against encroachment and illegal land use, the officials.
The development marks the first substantial progress on Ridge protection in over three decades, even as the government continues to miss NGT-mandated deadlines for notifying other Ridge zones.
The tribunal had in 2021 directed that all Ridge areas should be accorded final notification within three months but it has not been done till now.
Only part of the Southern Ridge is legally notified as reserve forest, with delays in surveys stalling similar protection across Delhi’s remaining Ridge areas.