The Delhi government has declared around 673.32 hectares of the Central Ridge area as ‘reserved forest’ under Section 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said on Saturday, terming it a “historic milestone” in environmental conservation.

The newly notified area falls under the Western Forest Division of the Forest Department and includes parts surrounding Sardar Patel Marg and the President’s Estate. The decision has been approved by Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, according to sources. However, the mandatory gazette notification was not issued till Saturday evening.

Despite court directions, notification of Delhi’s Ridge areas as a reserved forest for stronger legal protection had remained pending for years.

As per the Forest Department, the total area of the Northern, Central, South-Central, Southern and Nanakpura Ridge stretches in Delhi is 7,784 hectares. “With the present notification of 673.32 hectares of the 864-hectare Central Ridge, the current government has so far granted reserved forest status to a total of 4,754.14 hectares of Ridge areas,” an official statement said.

Expediting process

Noting that the remaining Ridge areas in Delhi would also soon be notified as reserved forests, Ms. Gupta said the process was being “expedited”. She added that around 4,080.82 hectares of the Southern Ridge area had been declared a reserved forest on October 24 last year, and the government will undertake large-scale plantation of native and environmentally suitable tree species wherever vacant land is available in Ridge areas declared as reserved forests.

The Chief Minister said the declaration of the Central Ridge area as a reserved forest completed an important process that had remained pending for more than three decades. The issue had also drawn repeated observations from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

In a January 15, 2021, order, the NGT stressed an “urgent need” to protect the Ridge and directed authorities to finalise the Section 20 notification within three months for areas where no dispute existed.

In another order dated July 4, 2025, the tribunal noted that the process was being “unnecessarily delayed” and sought affidavits from authorities detailing timelines for issuing the final notification.