Out of the total roughly 400 hectares of protected forest green land area that was found to be encroached in Delhi till May 2023, the multiple agencies involved in removing these encroachments were able to remove, at least on record, just 83 hectares by the end of November 2023.
Official documents and court documents accessed by The Sunday Guardian paint a very alarming picture of the level of encroachment of forest land in and around Delhi and the failure of both the Union Government and State Government to reclaim the same.
The incapability of the officials in removing these encroachments can be gauged from the fact that the office of the Deputy Conservator Forest (South), was able to remove encroachment from a measly 0.283 hectares out of a total 21.3 hectares of encroachment on forest land that was identified as on April 2019 on the boundaries of Chhatarpur. By the end of last year, as per the admission of the forest officials, a cumulative land area measuring 20.917 hectares remains subject to encroachment within the confines of Chhatarpur.
In May last year, various government agencies had informed a high power committee that of the 399 hectares of encroached forest land in Delhi that was identified in April 2019, only 84 hectares were freed of encroachment by the end of November 2023.
As per the data accessed by The Sunday Guardian, 13 hectares of forest land are encroached in Aaya Nagar, 21 hectares in Chhatarpur, 14 hectares in Neb Sarai, 15 hectares in Sahoopur, 38 hectares in Devli, 44 hectares in Asola, 38 hectares in Bhatti, 4 hectares in Maidan Garhi, 9 hectares in Saidulajab, 10 hectares in Satbari, 12 hectares in Jaunapur, 13 hectares in in Dera Mandi, 32 hectares in Tughlakabad, 20 hectares in Pulpehladpur, 14 hectares in Rajokri, 15 hectares in Rangpuri, 1 hectares in Mahipalpur and 1 hectares in Ghitorni.
In a meeting of the oversight committee held on 14 November 2023, it had expressed severe displeasure on the failure of the officials to take their work seriously and the slow speed on removing the encroachment.
As per the data collated by the DCF, South, 50 farmhouses were built on 300 bigha protected forest land in its jurisdiction. 158 bigha was encroached in Asola, in which 23 farmhouses were running, 26 bigha in three farmhouses in Maidangarhi, 5 bigha in Satbari in which two farmhouses were built, 28 bigha by 15 farmhouses in Jaunapur and 71 bigha by 7 farmhouses in Dera Mandi.
One bigha in Delhi is 2,500 square metres. While one hectare is 10,000 square metres.
After this it had ordered the District Magistrate of South, South-East, South-West and New Delhi, and the Deputy Conservator of Forest of South and West, to nominate one officer from their district as Nodal Officer not below the rank of ADM, to coordinate with the respective DCFs in respect of matters pertaining to encroachment removal on ground.
Interestingly, the committee was informed on 14 November that Gopal Rai, the Environment Minister of Delhi had directed officials not to carry out any encroachment removal without submitting the detailed encroachment removal plan to the Chief Minister of Delhi.
However, the chairman of the committee told the government officials, that there was no such procedure to seek permission from the Delhi CM in respect of encroachment removal from forest areas and they need not seek any permission from the Delhi government and that the DMs and DCFs should ensure removal of encroachments strictly as per the provisions of the Indian Forest Act 1927.
The National Green Tribunal, in January 2021, while deciding the case of Sonya Gosh vs Govt. Of N.C.T. Of Delhi, had directed the constitution of an Oversight Committee (OC) to be headed by Director General of Forest, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India with the Secretaries Revenue and Forest, Delhi Govt., the PCCF, Delhi, the concerned Deputy Commissioners, Delhi and the nominees of Police Commissioner, Delhi and the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun as members.
The main function of this OC is to oversee progress with regard to the removal of encroachments from Delhi, its protection by way of fencing/boundary wall and preparation of management plan for its restitution.
Officials aware of the matter said that similarly, hundreds of hectares of land belonging to Delhi Development Authority and Waqf board were under encroachment that had been carried out by the land mafia supported by politicians and bureaucrats.
The forest land, among all these encroached lands, was the most valuable because of its location and greenery, and was being sold for a premium by the land mafia to the rich and powerful of Delhi, which was then being used to develop farmhouses and resorts.
Due to the rapid and continuous encroachment of protected forest land, which invariably leads to the felling of trees, the average temperature in Delhi has risen abnormally as the trees in the Ridge area would protect Delhi from the hot winds that blow from the desert of Rajasthan. The ridge is divided into four zones: Northern Ridge in Delhi University, Central Ridge from Sadar Bazar to Dhaula Kuan, South West Central Ridge near JNU and Southern Ridge up to Asola and Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. Forest land in Delhi, measures, as per records, around 6,200 hectares.