19-05-2025
Housing project in Delhi's fragile Morphological Ridge zone gets CEC nod with strict environmental conditions
The Central Empowered Committee (CEC), in its latest report to the Supreme Court, has recommended that a private builder be allowed to use 4,553 square metres of land in Sector-B, Pocket-1, Vasant Kunj, which falls within Delhi's Morphological Ridge zone, for a group housing project.
The approval is subject to several conditions: no felling of any of the 23 existing trees on the site; plantation of 250 indigenous trees along the periphery and 250 along internal roads; and deposit of 5 per cent of the sanctioned project cost with the Ridge Management Board Fund, to be used under the supervision of the Delhi Forest Department.
The project must provide water for birds and squirrels, follow all conditions imposed by statutory authorities, including the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), and implement waste management, potable water supply, rainwater harvesting, and energy conservation measures. Quarterly compliance reports must be submitted through the CEC's online portal.
The land in question—approximately 5,353 square metres, of which 4,553 square metres fall within Delhi's Morphological Ridge—is part of the Aravalli ecosystem.
Although not notified as a forest, the Morphological Ridge holds environmental significance as per several court rulings, which mandate Supreme Court clearance for any construction in such areas.
The Indian Express had reported in March that the project was the first known case to receive a conditional environmental clearance from the ministry, and not CEC as is mandated in such cases, given that it is located in the Morphological Ridge area.
The CEC submitted the report on May 14 based on two applications concerning the group housing project in Vasant Kunj. An application filed by Rajeev Ranjan, RWA president at Pocket B-1, Vasant Kunj, opposed the project, citing ecological sensitivity and the ridge's protection.
The other, contested by the builder, argued that the land is residential, part of an approved Delhi Development Authority (DDA) layout plan, and lacks typical ridge features.
In response, the CEC consulted stakeholders such as DDA, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Forest Department and the MoEFCC, and inspected the site on January 3, this year. The committee found that more than 80 per cent of the land lies within the Morphological Ridge as per the Forest Department's e-Vanlekh map. It was also observed that however, the site appeared flat and surrounded by residential houses of DDA, upon inspection.
Mapping confirms ridge status: Using the Delhi Government's official e-Vanlekh portal, the CEC confirmed that about 85 per cent of the project site lies within the Morphological Ridge area.
Legal precedents demand clearance: The report highlights judicial precedents, including Delhi High Court and Supreme Court rulings, which insist that land with ridge-like morphological features cannot be developed without permission from the Ridge Management Board (RMB) and the Supreme Court.
All statutory approvals in place: Despite the ecological concerns, the project has obtained approvals from a range of statutory bodies—including DDA, MCD, Delhi Urban Art Commission, Airports Authority of India, Delhi Jal Board, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, Fire Department, and the MoEFCC.
The CEC referred the proposal for construction on the Morphological Ridge to the RMB on February 25 this year. The RMB responded on March 24, stating that it could not give an approval due to restrictions set by the Supreme Court in its May 16 order last year, wherein it restrained the board from clearing any project proposals involving diversion of ridge forests—including Morphological Ridge areas—without prior permission of the court.
This meant that no administrative or expert body other than the Supreme Court could have authorised the project. Even though the developer has all other statutory approvals, the absence of RMB clearance, due to the court's restriction, has made the Supreme Court's decision the final and only pathway.
The land was originally part of a large-scale SFS housing scheme planned by the DDA in 1987, but remained privately owned as the acquisition did not take place. Over the years, multiple applications and appeals for layout plan sanctions were filed. Eventually, the MCD approved the layout plans under the Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) 2021.
The project had obtained approvals, including a layout plan sanction from the MCD in March 2024 and a conditional environmental clearance from the MoEFCC in January this year. It also secured No-Objection Certificates from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and several other bodies. Additionally, the land acquisition collector confirmed the land is free of acquisition claims.
