SC panel gives green nod for group housing project in south Delhi ridge

CEC said that despite 85% of the Vasant Kunj site lying within the morphological ridge, none of the 23 trees on the site is being felled for the project

The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has given the green nod for the construction of a group housing project in Vasant Kunj Sector B, Pocket 1 in south Delhi, recommending it to the apex court for final approval.

The projet site in Pocket 1, Block B of Vasant Kunj in south Delhi. (HT Archive)

CEC said that despite 85% of the proposed project site — 4,553 sqm out of a total 5,353 sqm — lying within the morphological ridge, a zone accorded the same legal protections as Delhi’s notified ridge areas, none of the 23 trees on the project site is being felled for the project. In its report to the apex court dated May 14, CEC also said that the land, while classified as part of the morphological ridge, is largely flat and surrounded by existing Delhi Development Authority (DDA) residential development.

The project is being executed by a private developer, who has been directed to ensure no trees on the site are either felled or translocated. Of the 23 trees on site, 19 were found to be healthy by CEC during an inspection, three were dried out, and one had been rehabilitated after falling recently.

The housing proposal had already secured clearances from DDA, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the Airports Authority of India (AAI), and had received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) as well as the State Expert Appraisal Committee.

CEC had received two representations in the matter: one from the developer seeking permission for the housing scheme, and another from a local resident, Rajiv Ranjan, who raised objections citing the project’s location within the morphological ridge. In his submission, Ranjan argued that no construction should be permitted on the ecologically sensitive land. The developer, meanwhile, maintained that the site does not display ridge-like characteristics and should not fall under the same restrictions.

Following deliberations, CEC concluded that while the land does fall within the ridge classification, the absence of ridge-like topography, the surrounding built-up context, and the absence of any tree felling make a case for conditional clearance.

“It is recommended that this court may consider permitting the use of 4,553 sqm of the subject land for the construction of the group housing project, without the felling of any trees,” the committee wrote. The Supreme Court is expected to take a final view on the matter in the coming weeks.

The project will have three towers, with each tower to have a 3B+S+9 floor set-up, the proposal said.

Local residents have been protesting against the project, arguing that it violates the Master Plan 2021. In August 2024, residents organised a protest march, highlighting issues such as the absence of the mandated 18-metre-wide roads and the lack of separate entry and exit points for the new complex. They contend that the project, in which multi-storey buildings will be built, is incongruent with the existing four-floor flats in the area, thereby disrupting the neighbourhood’s character.