Panel approves 2 roads through Southern Ridge

The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has approved a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) proposal to construct two roads with a total length of around 2.7km- in parts of the Southern Ridge between Chhattarpur and Maidangarhi to facilitate a series of housing projects for central security agencies, among other projects, according to a report submitted by the committee to the top court.

The roads that will connect Chhattarpur's Gaushala Road to the South Asian University (SAU) road (1.07km) and the university to the Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (CAPFIMS) in Maidangarhi (1.65 km), will pass through 8.7 hectares of forest and non-forest land and involve felling or transplantation of 1,051 trees. HT has seen a copy of the report.

To be sure, DDA will need a clearance under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, if the area is a notified forest, despite CEC approval. To fell trees on nonforest land, permission will have to be sought under the Delhi Protection of Trees Act 1994. HT reached out to DDA but no response was available.

The move has invited strong criticism from environmental activists who have pointed out that far more stringency is needed when granting permission to construct something in the Ridge.

CEC has approved the project citing it is in the "public interest", keeping in mind future developments planned by DDA in the area. The project was approved by Delhi's Ridge Management Board (RMB) on August 24, 2023, which recommended the proposal to CEC, which takes the final call on construction in forest land.