The National Green Tribunal has sought a response from Delhi’s principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) and others in a matter regarding the challenges in reclaiming the national capital's southern Ridge, a crucial green area for the city.
The green panel had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of a newspaper report, according to which, despite being declared a reserved forest, large portions of the Ridge had been encroached, and the efforts to clear them were slow and complicated.
In a recent order, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said, "The news item asserts that as per a 2019 survey, 357.07 hectares of encroached land was identified, but only about 22 per cent has been cleared so far. The largest encroachments are in the villages of Asola and Bhatti, which are part of the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary."
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The bench also comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vel noted that the report mentioned specific encroachments, such as a police station, a motorcycle showroom, and a spiritual organisation's lawns, farmhouses and other private properties situated on forest land.
"The slow pace of clearing encroachments is attributed to legal delays, pending land 2 demarcations, and the absence of dedicated funds," the bench said adding, "The news item underscores the complexity and slow progress of reclaiming the southern Ridge, highlighting the need for more effective measures and dedicated resources to protect this crucial green space."
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Underlining that the report raised substantial issues regarding compliance with environmental norms, the tribunal impleaded as parties or respondents Delhi’s PCCF, the Lucknow regional office of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the District Magistrate (DM) of south Delhi.
"Issue notice to the above respondents for filing their response/reply," said the tribunal.
The matter has been posted for further proceedings on January 21.
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