“The Ridge is not just green cover — it is a living geological record, a climate shield, and a legal promise 30 years in the making.” — On the significance of Delhi’s Reserved Forest notification
On 9 May 2026, the Delhi government formally declared 673.32 hectares of the Central Ridge as a “Reserved Forest” under Section 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. The notification, issued by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, covers land under the Western Forest Division — stretches along Sardar Patel Marg, the President’s Estate, and towards Mandir Marg.
The declaration is far more than an environmental milestone. It is the closure of a legal process pending for over 30 years. All five Ridge zones were preliminarily notified under Section 4 in 1994 — but the final Section 20 declaration, which confers full statutory protection, had been repeatedly delayed. Between 1994 and 2025, only 103 hectares received this final protection. The current government has now brought that total to 4,754.14 hectares in under a year.
📜 What Is the Delhi Ridge?
The Delhi Ridge is the northernmost extension of the Aravalli Range — one of Earth’s oldest fold mountain systems, composed predominantly of quartzite rock estimated to be over 1.5 billion years old, significantly older than the Himalayas. Stretching approximately 35 kilometres across the National Capital Territory, it runs from Tughlaqabad in the south to Wazirabad in the north along the Yamuna River.
The Ridge is administratively divided into four (some sources cite five) distinct zones: the Northern Ridge (Kamla Nehru Ridge) near Delhi University, the Central Ridge (~864 hectares), the South-Central Ridge (Sanjay Van/Mehrauli), and the Southern Ridge (Asola Bhatti) — the largest section, extending into Haryana.
The Ridge functions as the “green lungs” of one of the world’s most polluted cities. It acts as a natural barrier against the hot, dry Loo winds from Rajasthan, and plays a measurable role in carbon sequestration, groundwater recharge, microclimate regulation, and particulate matter absorption.
Think of the Delhi Ridge as Delhi’s natural air conditioner and water recharger — a rocky, forested spine running through the city that blocks desert winds, filters pollution, and replenishes groundwater. Without it, Delhi’s summers would be even hotter and its air even dirtier. The “Reserved Forest” tag is basically the strongest legal padlock you can put on it.
⚖️ Legal Framework: Reserved Forests Under the Indian Forest Act, 1927
The Indian Forest Act, 1927 — comprising 13 chapters and 86 sections — provides the primary legal architecture for forest governance in India. It classifies forests into three categories: Reserved Forests (Chapter II), Village Forests (Chapter III), and Protected Forests (Chapter IV).
Reserved Forests carry the highest degree of statutory protection under this law. The two-step notification process works as follows:
- Section 4 (Preliminary Notification): The State Government declares its intention to constitute land as a Reserved Forest and appoints a Forest Settlement Officer (FSO) to hear claims and objections. A minimum period of three months is mandated for claim submissions.
- Section 20 (Final Notification): Once all claims are settled and boundary demarcation is complete, the State Government issues the final gazette notification. From the date fixed in this notification, the forest is legally deemed “reserved.”
Section 26 prohibits activities including grazing, felling trees, burning, quarrying, and hunting within Reserved Forests. Violations attract imprisonment of up to two years or fines between ₹5,000 and ₹20,000, or both.
National Share: Reserved Forests cover approximately 4,23,311 sq km — constituting 55.1% of India’s total recorded forest area of 7,68,436 sq km. Reserved Forests are declared by State Governments — unlike National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, which are governed by the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
| Forest Category | Governing Law | Protection Level | Declared By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reserved Forest | Indian Forest Act, 1927 (S.20) | Highest — default prohibition | State Government |
| Protected Forest | Indian Forest Act, 1927 (S.29) | Moderate — specific prohibitions | State Government |
| Wildlife Sanctuary | Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 | High — restricted human access | State Government |
| National Park | Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 | Strictest — no human habitation | State Government |
Don’t confuse Section 4 with Section 20. Section 4 is only a preliminary notification — it signals intent. Section 20 is the final notification that actually creates a Reserved Forest. Delhi’s Ridge had Section 4 status since 1994 but lacked full protection until the Section 20 notifications of 2025–26. Many exam questions test this distinction.
📌 Three Decades of Stalled Protection: Key Milestones
Between 1994 and 2025 — 31 years — only 103 hectares of the Ridge received final protection. In under a year (October 2025 to May 2026), the current government notified 4,754 hectares. What does this dramatic shift tell us about the role of political will vs. institutional inertia in environmental governance? Why does the NGT’s intervention in 2021 not seem to have been the turning point?
✨ Ecological Profile of the Central Ridge
The Central Ridge supports a Tropical Dry Deciduous and Thorny Scrub Forest ecosystem — an arid, rocky habitat ecologically distinct from lush urban plantations. Its native flora includes species adapted to low-rainfall, nutrient-poor soils:
- Dhauk (Anogeissus pendula) — dominant native tree of the Northern Aravallis
- Salai (Boswellia serrata) — frankincense tree, important for resin
- Palash (Butea monosperma) — the “Flame of the Forest”
- Babul (Acacia nilotica) — drought-tolerant native acacia
The Ridge’s fauna includes jackals, nilgai, porcupines, numerous bird species, and critically, termite colonies that function as “ecosystem engineers” — essential for nutrient recycling and moisture retention in the Ridge’s thin topsoil.
Despite a small footprint in a megacity of 20+ million people, the Central Ridge makes a disproportionate contribution to Delhi’s air quality and urban heat regulation, acting as a primary carbon sink and buffer against the urban heat island effect.
🌍 Major Threats and Conservation Controversies
Invasive Species — Vilayati Kikar (Prosopis juliflora): Introduced during the British era to rapidly establish green cover, this South American shrub has become severely invasive. It depletes groundwater through aggressive root systems and forms dense canopies that suppress native Aravalli flora. Removal and replacement with native species is now considered essential.
Encroachment and Fragmentation: The Ridge faces persistent threats from illegal settlements, road expansions, and institutional construction. Habitat fragmentation has been a primary argument for formal Reserved Forest status — once notified, the Forest Department gains clear legal authority to act against encroachment.
Misguided Plantation Efforts: Ecologists have raised concerns about restoration strategies that plant water-intensive species — mango, jamun, shisham — not ecologically suited to the Ridge’s dry, rocky terrain. True ecological restoration requires species naturally occurring in the Northern Aravallis. The government’s May 2026 plan to plant neem, peepal, shisham, jamun, tamarind, and mango has drawn criticism on precisely these grounds.
Mining Legacy: The Southern Ridge still carries scars of extensive quartzite and red badarpur sand mining. Deep pits left by unregulated extraction have severely disrupted drainage patterns and topsoil structure in the Asola Bhatti area.
Aravalli Age vs. Himalaya Age: The Aravallis are among Earth’s oldest mountain systems — quartzite rock over 1.5 billion years old. The Himalayas are geologically young (formed ~50 million years ago). Questions sometimes reverse this. Also note: Reserved Forests are governed by the Indian Forest Act, 1927 — NOT the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, which governs diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.
📖 Significance and What Comes Next
The formal reservation of 673.32 hectares under Section 20 transforms a notionally protected area into one with enforceable boundaries, a clear prohibition on non-forest activities, and the authority of a Forest Settlement Officer to act against illegal encroachment. The distinction matters enormously in a city where land pressure is intense and enforcement has historically been weak.
The Delhi Ridge case also carries broader lessons for urban forest governance across Indian cities, where preliminary Section 4 notifications frequently stall before the Section 20 stage — leaving forests in a legal grey zone that neither fully protects nor formally permits development.
What follows will determine whether the ecological gains match the legal ones: removal of invasive species, ecologically appropriate restoration plantings, extension of the Section 20 process to remaining Ridge zones (Northern Ridge and South-Central Ridge), and careful scrutiny of themed forest proposals that could violate the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
The Delhi Ridge notification raises a wider urban governance question: when cities grow, who speaks for non-human ecosystems? The Ridge case shows that environmental protection requires both legal instruments (Section 20) and ecological knowledge (native species restoration). Legal protection without sound science may still fail ecosystems — while ecological best practices without legal backing remain unenforceable. This tension is central to India’s urban sustainability debate.
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Section 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 is the final notification that legally creates a Reserved Forest. Section 4 is only the preliminary notification.
Between 1994 and 2025 (31 years), only 103 hectares of the Delhi Ridge received final Reserved Forest status under Section 20.
Reserved Forests cover approximately 55.1% of India’s total recorded forest area — the largest share among all forest categories under the Indian Forest Act.
Prosopis juliflora, commonly known as Vilayati Kikar or Mexican Mesquite, is the major invasive species on the Delhi Ridge, introduced during the British era.
The Southern Ridge notification of 24 October 2025 covered 4,080.82 hectares — making it the largest single Reserved Forest notification in Delhi’s history.
