Delhi: Review curbs on developmental works in morphological ridge, says DDA to chief secretary

New Delhi: The DDA has written to the Delhi chief secretary, urging him to review restrictions imposed by the forest department on developmental work in the “morphological ridge” area of the capital. According to the Forest Department, morphological ridge is that part of the ridge area “which has ridge-like features but is not a notified forest”. It forms a part of the extension of the Aravallis. Permission of the Ridge Management Board (RMB), headed by the Delhi chief secretary, and of the Supreme Court through the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) is required to carry out any construction in the morphological ridge area. According to documents accessed by PTI, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has challenged the Forest Department’s decision to impose curbs on several projects in the morphological ridge area, saying the term “morphological ridge” neither has “legal sanctity nor any scientific background to it”. “It is pertinent to mention that the issues related to such ‘morphological ridge’ have resulted in major economic implications for the DDA and service providing agencies and hampered developmental activities within the area. “The DDA has already spent crores (of rupees) on the acquisition of land parcels which have subsequently been allotted to various government agencies such as IGNOU, National Investigation Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Delhi Police, Urban Institute of India, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and South Asian University,” the letter read. A senior forest department official said certain areas in the capital have been classified as morphological ridge based on the data provided by the Geological Survey of India. “We have briefed the chief secretary about it… Soon, we’ll put up all the documents on our website. If the DDA wants to challenge it they should approach the Supreme Court,” he said. An official cited the Delhi High Court order in the matter of Ashok Tanwar Vs. Union of India which stated that permission of the RMB or the Supreme Court through the CEC is required to carry out any construction in the morphological ridge. According to “An Introduction to the Delhi Ridge” published by the Forest Department in 2014, the morphological ridge is described on the basis of seismic zonation provided by the Geological Survey of India Map of Delhi of 2006. “Morphological ridge, having similar features to the notified ridge, is of immense ecological importance, and should also be conserved and kept free from unrestricted and unplanned development. It should work as a buffer zone to protect the core forest area of the Ridge,” it says. “Also, the morphological ridge area comes under a high seismic risk zone; so, construction of high-rise buildings in the morphological ridge area may be dangerous. The state government identified morphological characteristics, land recorded as ‘Gair Mumkin Pahar’ in revenue records and area notified as ridge forests as part of the Delhi Ridge,” the book states. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.