Form expanded Delhi Ridge board in 6 weeks: SC tells Centre

This comes a day after the SC bench gave statutory backing to the long-defunct DRMB, expanded its composition, and directed it to act as a single-window authority for all matters concerning the Ridge and the Morphological Ridge.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to constitute the expanded Delhi Ridge Management Board (DRMB) within six weeks, a day after it laid the foundation for a “single window” authority to deal with preservation and protection of the‘green lung’ of Delhi.

The amicus curiae further sought a timeline for constitution of the standing committee for passing day-to-day orders. (HT archive)

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai, passed the order after the gap was highlighted by the amicus curiae, senior advocate K Parmeshwar. “We direct the ministry of environment forests and climate change (MoEFCC) that the DRMB shall be constituted within six weeks,” the order said.

This comes a day after a bench of the CJI and justice K Vinod Chandran gave statutory backing to the long-defunct DRMB, expanded its composition, and directed it to act as a single-window authority for all matters concerning the Ridge and the Morphological Ridge. It restructured the DRMB as a 14-member body under the Environment (Protection) Act.

Under Tuesday’s order, the new board will be headed by the Delhi chief secretary and include members from key Union and Delhi government ministries; the Central Empowered Committee (CEC); statutory authorities such as the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC); the Central Public Works Department (CPWD); Delhi Police, and representatives from civil society.

Furthermore, to ensure that day-to-day decisions are not delayed, the court directed the new DRMB to set up a standing committee, chaired by a CEC member, with the Delhi government’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), two civil society representatives from the DRMB, as well as nominees by the Delhi chief secretary and DDA who are experts in conservation.

On Wednesday, flagging gaps in the order, the amicus curiae further sought a timeline for constitution of the standing committee for passing day-to-day orders. The court said the standing committee should be constituted in another six weeks from the date when the DRMB is set up. It clarified that, while the power of the standing committee would be “co-extensive” to that of the DRMB, it will function under the board’s control.

The court also said that it is to be clearly understood from its order that, with the formation of a “single window” authority, the newly constituted DRMB will be the sole authority to deal with all issues relating to the land in the Ridge and Morphological Ridge. All committees previously constituted by the apex court, Delhi High Court, National Green Tribunal and the Delhi government “will cease to exist”.

The Delhi Ridge forms the tail end of the ancient Aravalli Hills, which extend from Gujarat, all through Rajasthan and Haryana, and end in Delhi. Being home to a variety of flora and fauna as well as playing a crucial role in cutting down the effects of pollution, it is called the “green lung” of the city.

The court passed the order on Tuesday after examining a report filed by the CEC earlier this year, which flagged “serious encroachment” of Ridge land.The CEC report said the Ridge land in Delhi is divided up as northern Ridge (87 hectares), central Ridge (864 ha), south central Ridge (Mehrauli: 626 ha) and southern Ridge (6200 ha). Of this, nearly 308.552 ha, i.e. around 5% area, was found to be encroached.

The court pulled up the Delhi government for failing to protect the Ridge and held the new board should “remove all encroachments” in the Delhi Ridge as well as the Morphological Ridge and take all necessary steps for its management, including afforestation and habitat conservation.

Formed by the court in September 1995 and tasked with protection of Delhi Ridge, for three decades, the DRMB has functioned without any statutory backing. The court held that a statutory backing for the DRMB is essential as it will make its functioning transparent and accountable and subject to the jurisdiction of the national green tribunal (NGT) under Section 14 of the NGT Act, 2010. Further, the orders of the DRMB can now be challenged before the high court and the Supreme Court as well.

The court noted that multiple authorities or committees were concerned with taking decisions on proposals for diversion of Ridge land which added to the problem. In 2021, while the NGT formed an oversight committee, the Delhi High Court entrusted the Ridge’s management to CEC. Later, in 2023, the apex court formed a high powered committee to identify the Morphological Ridge.

In August, the court had asked the MoEFCC to ensure that there was a single window for the clearance of tree felling permissions for any development works to be carried out in the Ridge area. At the time, the Centre proposed a reconstituted DRMB but it was not in favour of giving the body statutory backing.