UPSC Darpan

Environment & EcologyGS35 October 2026

Delhi notifies 112.3 ha of the Northern Ridge as reserved forest while 2,073 ha stays outside Section 20

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The news

New Delhi. On Friday, October 2, the Delhi government approved the Phase-I notification declaring 112.3 hectares (112.328 ha) of the Northern Ridge, an extension of the Aravalli range, a reserved forest under Section 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, The Indian Express reports. It excluded 8.61 ha of demarcated land. A reserved forest is the strongest legal class of forest. In May 2026 Delhi notified 673.32 ha of the Central Ridge out of 991.9 ha demarcated, and in September approved a draft for 400.541 ha in the Southern Ridge. Minutes of the Delhi Ridge Management Board for June 2026 show 7,772.3 ha demarcated, 4,850.3 ha already notified, 848.769 ha proposed and 2,073.226 ha still out. The Forest department told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that encroachments, pending litigation and incomplete Tatima (land-record) proceedings cause the delay.

The chain in one line: Ridge notified under Section 4 on May 24, 1994 → rights and claims must be settled before Section 20 → encroachment, court stays and unfinished land records stall settlement → the Central Empowered Committee finds in May 2024 that only 1.33% is notified under Section 20 → Delhi notifies in phases in 2026

Static syllabus linkage

  1. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 makes a reserved forest through notices ending in Section 20. Under Section 4 the State government notifies its intention to constitute a reserved forest. A Forest Settlement Officer then inquires into claims of rights, with an appeal allowed. Only then does the government issue the Section 20 notification, declaring the reserved forest. Section 29 creates the lighter protected forest.
  2. The Supreme Court, the CEC and the NGT oversee the Ridge. The Ridge is under the Supreme Court’s watch in the T. N. Godavarman case, and the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), set up by the court in 2002, reports on encroachment. The National Green Tribunal, created in 2010, separately monitors compliance.

Why UPSC loves this

  1. The GS3 syllabus covers “conservation, environmental pollution and degradation”. A question may ask why legal status, not policy intent, decides whether a forest survives urban pressure. The Ridge shows the gap between notified, demarcated and actually protected land.

Prelims nuggets

  • Section 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 is the provision under which a State government finally declares a reserved forest, after settlement of rights.
  • Section 29 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 provides for protected forests, where activities are regulated rather than prohibited.
  • The Delhi Ridge is an extension of the Aravalli range.
  • The Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994 requires prior permission from the designated Tree Officer to fell trees in Delhi.
  • The National Green Tribunal, set up under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, hears civil cases on environmental laws including the Indian Forest Act, 1927.

Analysis

  1. A notification is a promise to the forest only once the human claims on the land are settled. Section 20 cannot be issued until claims are settled, and the Ridge holds village settlements, unauthorised colonies, jhuggi clusters, religious structures and government allotments. Settling them means paying, relocating or litigating. Announcements without that work make headlines, not forests.
  2. Phase-wise notification protects the easy land first and lets the hard land slip. The 2,073.226 ha left out is largely the disputed land, so the most threatened parts are protected last. The Supreme Court said in November 2025 that non-notification does not strip the Ridge of protection, but that without proper statutory protection its integrity cannot be preserved. The counter-view is that phasing avoids waiting for every case, fair only if later phases carry dates.
  3. Lens — Rule of law and discretion: exclusions show who decides what stays unprotected. The May Central Ridge notice left out the President’s Bodyguard Ground (12.6 ha), an ISRO earth station (0.68 ha), the 14th-century Malcha Mahal (0.09 ha) and a pump station (0.15 ha), for later phases. Each may have a reason, but together they show case-by-case choice. A thoughtful officer would publish every excluded parcel with its reason and a date.

Possible Mains question

Delhi’s Ridge was first notified in 1994, yet little is reserved forest. Examine the causes and suggest how protection can be completed. (15 marks, 250 words)

Model approach

  1. Directive — Examine. Probe causes and weigh remedies; do not only narrate.
  2. Introduction — a forest is protected in law only after Section 20. Contrast the 1994 Section 4 notice with 7,772.3 ha demarcated and 2,073.226 ha still out.
  3. Body — unsettled claims, encroachment and litigation, not a lack of law, cause the delay. Value addition: the CEC’s 2024 finding of 1.33% notified.
  4. Body — phasing protects the easy land first and leaves the contested land. Supreme Court, November 2025: the State had not acted with swiftness.
  5. Body — a dated public plan turns discretion into accountability. Diagram: flowchart from Section 4 to settlement to Section 20, marking where the Ridge is stuck.
  6. Conclusion — finish settlement, publish exclusions, set deadlines. Tie protection to sustainable urban development.

Administrator's brainstorm

As Principal Secretary (Forests) you find 2,073 ha of the Ridge left out of notification over disputed land records. What will you do?

I would first publish a parcel-wise register stating why each portion is excluded, so the delay can be seen and challenged. Revenue and Forest departments would do a time-bound joint re-verification, reviewed monthly by me. Agencies holding parcels would give consent or a written reason within a fixed time. For private land I would follow the Act’s settlement process, with notice and hearing.