Phase-1 of central Ridge survey ends; 600 hectares identified free of encroachments

Phase-1 of the central Ridge survey is complete, identifying over 600 hectares as encroachment-free; Phase-2 is ongoing, aiming for final notification by March 31.

Phase-1 of the joint survey for demarcation of the 864-hectare central Ridge is now complete, with over 600 hectares identified as encroachment-free. Officials said phase-2, which will assess disputed boundaries and land under litigation, is already underway, with plans to complete the exercise by March 31.

Phase-1 of central Ridge survey ends; 600 hectares identified free of encroachments

The central Ridge is Delhi’s second-largest Ridge area, but apart from the southern Ridge (6,200 hectares), the city’s other Ridge areas have never been demarcated. The ongoing exercise to demarcate land and identify encroachments will pave the way for notification of the central Ridge under Section 20, formally designating it as a protected forest.

Delhi’s Ridge areas have already been notified in 1994, under Section 4 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. This is the first stage of notification that declares a land as protected forest, and also defines its total area.

However, the final notification, which is done under Section 20 of the same act is yet to be completed for Ridge areas, except the southern Ridge, where 4,080 hectares were notified in October last year. The final notification grants complete protection and defines the boundaries, allowing authorities to act on encroachments immediately.

“Phase-1 of the joint demarcation exercise, carried out by the forest department, revenue department, DDA and L&DO, is complete, with over 600 hectares identified as encroachment-free. In the second phase, which has already begun, disputed boundaries and areas under litigation will be assessed,” said a senior government official aware of the matter, adding that notification of this encumbrance-free land can be carried out soon.

“A file will be moved for the same,” the official added, stating that after 4,080 hectares were notified in the southern Ridge last year, nearly 700 hectares of additional forest land there will be taken up soon. “This land was identified under phase-2, where litigation was ongoing. The final boundaries are still being assessed,” the official said.

Delhi’s Ridge, often described as the city’s “green lungs”, spans roughly 7,784 hectares and includes the southern Ridge (6,200 hectares), central Ridge (864 hectares), south-central Ridge (626 hectares) and northern Ridge (87 hectares). A seven-hectare stretch in Nanakpura is also classified as Ridge land.

In March last year, the forest department informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it could not issue final notifications for the Central, northern, Nanakpura and south-central Ridge zones as boundary demarcation for these areas was still pending.

The admission came during a hearing on a petition filed in 2015 by Delhi resident and environmentalist Sonya Ghosh, who urged the tribunal to intervene to prevent further encroachment on Ridge land.

In 2017, the NGT directed the removal of encroachments from the Ridge. In 2021, it ordered the Delhi government to complete final notification for all Ridge areas within three months. Ghosh later filed an execution application stating that these directions had not been followed.