314+ hectares of south Ridge encroached

Over 314 hectares (ha) of the Southern Ridge — spread across areas from Rajokri, Asola-Bhatti in southwest Delhi to Pul Prahladpur in the southeast and considered a part of the Capital’s green lung — are yet to be cleared of encroachments, according to the latest report submitted by the state forest department to the National Green Tribunal (NGT)-appointed Oversight Committee (OC), according to official documents, people aware of the matter, and a spot check by HT.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

These encroachments include temporary structures such as hutments and tents, and multi-storey buildings and farmhouses, the data showed. The report specifies action undertaken by the forest department in 19 villages that form part of the 6,200-hectare Ridge.

Only around 84 hectares of the 398 hectares have been cleared since 2019, when the department first took action on the ground said the report, which was submitted on November 14 during the seventh meeting of the OC.

The OC was formed in 2021 to oversee encroachment removal in the Ridge. It is headed by the director general forest and special secretary (DGF&SS) under the Union environment ministry and comprises secretaries from the revenue and forest departments, Delhi’s principal chief conservator of forest, deputy commissioners, police officers and members from the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun.

HT on Friday visited parts of the Ridge and found that the encroachments had expanded deep into the densely forested patches of the land, and were separated only by a boundary wall in some areas — including at the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, which is the city’s only sanctuary. Two villages — Devli and Tughlakabad in south Delhi — were found densely packed with structures that have sprouted over the years.