Team : Ravi Agarwal, Ajay Mahajan
Year of  commencement: 1979
Year of completion: Ongoing

Ajay and Ravi have been on the Ridge Management Board and have been attending their meetings, besides being involved in field inspections to certain parts of the Ridge to verify or report violations of the Forest Conservation Act

For two serious violations, one, the Army clearing forest and second, the DDA's construction of the shopping mall, Vikram Soni approached the officials of the CEC. The Army stated that the disputed area was theirs and categorised as A-1 which was needed to rehabilitate those who had fought in the Kargil War. Also, they made it evident, that the Delhi Master Plan did not apply to the Army. It was at this point that several of us approached the CEC in a public interest litigation. After a couple of hearings, the CEC refused to stay the construction but appointed  Shekhar Singh to provide an expert opinion on the area. The MOEF opposed Mr Singh's appointment, yet, the CEC went ahead with this procedure

Dr Singh presented a report which clearly said that violation was taking place with large scale tree felling. The Forest Department also presented an affidavit that the area was indeed a forest. Surprisingly, it was the MOEF which was in opposition again on this issue. It is an unsigned letter with the CEC (not even an affidavit), the Ministry recommended that Dr Singh was not competent in this issue and that a multi -stakeholders' committee be formed to investigate the social,economic and environmental impacts before recommending that this area be declared reserve Forest under Sec. 4. The CEC questioned if there had ever been such a precedence in the entire country.
  It is understood that in their report to the Supreme Court, the CEC has recommended that the area with the DDA (excluding the 92 ha) and about 300 odd acres with the army be notified under Sec.4. However, it is evidently silent on the 92 ha shopping mall, as well as the construction going on and undertaken by the Army.

 The following is a news report  “ New Delhi, July 16 2004 : Delhi High Court has taken a serious view of the abuse of the notified Central Ridge and directed the DDA to ensure that ''the ridge is maintained as ridge only.'' The court took cognisance of the fact that several paths and even a cremation ground had been constructed in the notified area of the ridge near Pusa Institute in West Delhi.

      It said it was appalled to note that even a water body had been covered up and a path constructed over it. Chief Justice B C Patel and Justice B D Ahmed directed the DDA on Wednesday that all paths - two kuchcha and one cemented - were to be turned into a green area.   Observing that the area ''must be maintained as a forest'', the court ordered the cremation sheds to be demolished and the water body to be restored.
      The court had appointed advocate Raj Panjwani amicus curiae in the case. After a visit to the site in May this year, Panjwani had filed his report stating that from the Dev Prakash Shastri Marg gate a cemented path had been constructed by the DDA which led to two unmanned cremation sheds.
      Two other kuchcha paths - 2.5 metres to 3 metres wide - had been made ''obviously by first cutting down trees...'' Panjwani had pointed out that the kuccha path led to the R-block park in Rajinder Nagar, questioning how a park could come up in the first place.
      The court also took note of the fact that 'malba' (debris) was being regularly dumped there. To check this practise, a fence was needed to be erected to segregate the ridge and the Ridge Management Board was asked to do the needful. DDA has been ordered to ensure that the ridge is not used as a dumping ground. All bricks and debris must be removed, the court said. “