NGT issues notice to forest dept on illegal bridge in southern Ridge

The NGT has issued a notice over illegal construction on forest land in Delhi, following a plea regarding unauthorized bridge construction.

Updated on: May 8, 2026, 22:41:53 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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A view of the southern Ridge. (HT Archive)

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notice to the state forest department and other agencies concerned over alleged illegal construction and encroachment of notified forest land in the southern Ridge.

Delhi resident Kiran Pal, in a plea filed with the tribunal, flagged illegal construction of a bridge, without mandatory statutory permissions, in Bhati Khurd area. The applicant also flagged that an RTI filed with the state forest and wildlife department confirmed that the land in question was notified forest and that no tender or permission had been issued for construction of the bridge.

In its order on May 7, a bench of justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and experts A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmed, said, “The applicant has further submitted that in view of Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (now Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980) the forest land cannot be used for non-forest purposes without prior approval of the Central Government and that the construction of bridge is violative of the above-referred statutory provisions besides the provisions of the Delhi Master Plan and Delhi Development Act, 1957.”

“Respondent no. 1 – Range Forest Officer, South Forest Division had issued a restraint order dated March 6, 2026 – but construction activities are still being carried out,” the bench observed.

It said that the matter raises substantial environmental issues relating to implementation of environmental laws under Schedule-I of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.

“In view of the above, notice of the original application along with copies of the documents attached with the same is ordered to be issued to 2 the respondents requiring the respondents to file their responses at least three days before the next date of hearing fixed,” it added.

The NGT will hear the matter next on May 25.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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