‘No more delays’: SC gives Centre 2 months to set up single window for Delhi Ridge diversion nod | Latest News Delhi

New Delhi The Supreme Court on Wednesday underlined the need to have a single window clearance for diversion of ridge land in Delhi, directing the Centre to come up with a concrete proposal to create a uniform authority for the purpose within two months.

The Delhi ridge is the tail end of the ancient Aravalli Hills, extending from Gujarat, all through Rajasthan, Haryana and ending in Delhi. It is called the “green lung” of the city, being home to a variety of flora and fauna, and plays a crucial role in cutting down the effects of pollution. (HT Archive)

The court directed the Union government to consult all stakeholders—including the Delhi government and the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), the expert body assisting the court on environmental matters—and submit the proposal by October 8. “No time beyond two months will be granted,” the bench said.

The order was passed by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai, while hearing a matter related to the protection of Delhi Ridge, based on a 2023 report by the CEC highlighting the depletion of ridge land owing to encroachments and a rise in diversion of land for non forestry purposes.

“In the matter concerning the Delhi Ridge, several authorities are monitoring the issue. Authorities have to go to these committees for permission on diversion of ridge land. This leads to conflicting decisions being passed,” the bench, also comprising justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria, noted.

Proposing a streamlined mechanism, the bench said, “There has to be a centralised agency for granting permissions. Let the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) come out with a common mechanism by consulting all stakeholders.”

Senior advocate K Parmeshwar, appearing as amicus curiae, reminded the court of its earlier observation in May 2024, calling the state of Delhi Ridge “very shocking”. He pointed out that notifications issued on May 24, 1994, and March 19, 1996, demarcated the total ridge area as 7,784 hectares. Yet, only 103.48 hectares have been notified as ridge land.

The CEC flagged this mismatch, despite the capital already having a Ridge Management Board (RMB)—an independent agency tasked with protecting ridge land. However, the CEC noted that RMB had cleared several proposals for diversion of ridge land for non-forest purposes.

“Not even 1% of the total demarcated ridge land has been notified,” Parmeshwar told the court, adding that a committee set up earlier to identify additional areas in Delhi qualifying as “morphological ridge”, based on geological features, has made no progress.

He also informed the court that the Delhi high court, in separate matters, has constituted ad hoc committees to consider permissions for ridge land diversion, further contributing to the overlapping and fragmented oversight.

In its order, the SC said: “We direct the MoEFCC to take on board the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, the CEC, and all committees appointed by this court and the Delhi high court, and come out with a proposal wherein one uniform body can be entrusted with the work of monitoring the issue in relation to the Delhi Ridge.”

Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, agreed to adhere to the timeline. The bench directed all stakeholders to cooperate and emphasised: “We make it clear that no further time will be granted to MoEFCC for submitting the proposal.”

The court was hearing the TN Godavarman matter where the issue of protection of forests and wildlife across the country is being considered. The matter related to the Delhi Ridge arose separately in a petition filed in the MC Mehta case and was later transferred to the bench led by the CJI.

The court had raised similar concerns in May this year, pointing to the fragmented decision-making among agencies such as the National Green Tribunal, RMB, and high court, which the CEC said had led to ineffective conservation efforts.

According to the CEC’s May 2024 report, 5% of the ridge land in Delhi is under encroachment, and the rate of diversion is rising. It noted: “The management of ridge land does not seem to be up to the mark… 5% is under encroachment, the rate of diversion is on the rise and 4% has been diverted.”

Delhi’s ridge land is divided into four zones: Northern Ridge (87 hectares), Central Ridge (864 hectares), South Central Ridge in Mehrauli (626 hectares), and Southern Ridge (6,200 hectares). The expert panel was able to compile data for only 6,626 hectares of forest land under the ownership of the Delhi government’s Forest Department. Of this, approximately 308.55 hectares—about 5%—is currently encroached upon, the panel noted.

“These are official figures. Actual encroachment may be much more and can only be verified once the entire boundary is secured using geo-tagged pillars,” the report stated. It also pointed out the slow pace of removals — just 91 hectares of encroachments were cleared over the past five years.

The report further revealed that 183.88 hectares of ridge land had been diverted for non-forestry use in the past five years, up from 117.97 hectares in the previous five-year period. Since 2015, a total of 301.86 hectares, or about 4% of ridge land, has been diverted.

The root cause for diversion, according to CEC, was the lack of notification identifying the ridge land as reserved forests.

The Delhi ridge is the tail end of the ancient Aravalli Hills, extending from Gujarat, all through Rajasthan, Haryana and ending in Delhi. It is called the “green lung” of the city, being home to a variety of flora and fauna, and plays a crucial role in cutting down the effects of pollution.

The original 1994 notification covered 7,777 hectares, extended in 1996 to include the Nanakpura ridge, bringing the total notified area to 7,784 hectares. However, the land falls under multiple agencies, with a substantial portion held by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

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