Central Ridge over 75% becomes reserved forest

Delhi’s Central Ridge just got a much tougher legal shield. On May 10, the Delhi government notified 673.32 hectares of the area as reserved forest under Section 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. That matters because the Ridge is not just “green space” in the abstract — it is one of the capital’s main ecological buffers, part of the old Aravalli system, and a barrier against heat, dust, and unchecked construction. The gap, for years, was that large stretches were important in practice but weaker on paper. This notification changes that. ### What is the Central Ridge, exactly? The Ridge is Delhi’s rocky forested spine — the northern extension of the Aravalli range — and the Central Ridge is one of its most visible urban sections, running through a part of the city where development pressure is constant. In plain English, this is land that helps the city breathe, cool down, and hold on to biodiversity even as built-up areas keep expanding. (hindustantimes.com) ### What changed this week? The government moved this stretch from a long-pending category into full reserved-forest notification. The number is 673.32 hectares, and officials said that pushes more than 75% of the Central Ridge under reserved-forest protection. The Indian Express and others describe the step as the end of a process that had been hanging for roughly three decades. (forest.delhi.gov.in) ### Why does “reserved forest” matter so much? Because this is the hard version of legal protection. A green patch can exist on a map and still keep getting chipped away. Reserved-forest status makes diversion, construction, and other intrusions much harder. Basically, the land stops being easy to treat as flexible urban inventory and starts being treated as forest with statutory backing. (indianexpress.com) ### Wasn’t the Ridge already protected? Sort of — but not evenly, and that is the catch. Delhi’s Ridge has long been recognized as ecologically important, and parts of it had earlier forest notifications or court-backed protection. But recognition is not the same thing as completing the final legal notification for every parcel. This week’s move matters because it closes that gap for a big Central Ridge chunk. ### Why did this take so long? (hindustantimes.com) The short answer is land, boundaries, and bureaucracy. Reports on the move say the reserved-forest tag for this area had been pending for more than 30 years. That usually means demarcation disputes, overlapping control, and the slow grind of urban land administration — especially in a city where every hectare can attract competing claims. (dda.gov.in) ### Does this affect the rest of Delhi’s Ridge? Yes — at least politically and administratively. The government has framed the Central Ridge notification as part of a broader push to finish similar protections across other Ridge areas. That matters because the Ridge works as a connected system, not as isolated postcard patches. If one section stays exposed, pressure tends to spill over there. (indianexpress.com) ### So what should people watch next? Watch enforcement. A notification is powerful, but only if agencies use it to stop fresh encroachment, resist land-use dilution, and settle boundary fights cleanly. The real test is whether this changes what can actually happen on the ground over the next year. ### Bottom line? This is not just a paperwork story. (bynewsindia.com) Delhi took a large, vulnerable piece of its urban forest and gave it the city’s strongest forest-law protection — after a delay measured in decades. That does not solve every Ridge problem, but it makes the Central Ridge much harder to carve up. (hindustantimes.com)