Delhi’s reserved forest area is set to expand nearly 54-fold to 5,363.169 hectares, bringing a larger part of the Ridge and other forest land under stronger legal protection against encroachment, illegal construction and tree felling.
According to new figures released by the Delhi government, only 96.16 hectares had been notified as reserved forest during previous governments. That figure has risen to 5,267.009 hectares during the current government’s tenure. The additional notification of 112.328 hectares in the Northern Ridge will take the city’s total reserved forest area to approximately 13,252 acres.
The move follows the government’s approval last month to declare about 400 hectares, or nearly 1,000 acres, of additional land in the Southern Ridge as reserved forest. The Ridge is considered important for Delhi’s green cover, groundwater conservation, biodiversity and wider environmental balance.
Once land is declared reserved forest, stricter protection applies under forest laws. This strengthens the legal basis for action against activities such as unauthorised occupation, illegal construction and the cutting of trees. The Delhi government has said that bringing more Ridge land under legal protection will help conserve the city’s remaining natural green areas.
The expansion is significant because the Ridge is not only an ecological asset but also a contested urban land system. Its protection depends on the legal status of parcels, the ability of authorities to monitor them and the enforcement of action against violations. The government’s figures indicate a substantial increase in the area receiving reserved-forest status, but the report does not provide details on the number of pending encroachment cases, enforcement staff, demarcation work or the timeline for completing ground-level protection measures.
The Northern Ridge’s additional 112.328 hectares are now being brought into the reserved-forest framework. The move adds to the earlier decision concerning the Southern Ridge and extends the area covered by formal legal safeguards across Delhi’s Ridge landscape.
Wildlife expert Faiyaz Khudsar described the development as a positive step, noting that the Northern Ridge had already been treated as a protected area in practice and that formal notification would provide stronger backing. His assessment also points to the distinction between administrative recognition and effective protection on the ground.
The next challenge will be ensuring that the expanded legal status is supported by boundary protection, regular surveillance and action against unauthorised activity. The government’s announcement establishes the scale of the notified area; the effectiveness of the measure will depend on how consistently the new protections are implemented across the Ridge.
