Only about a fifth of encroached forest land in Delhi has been cleared since 2019, with a panel formed by the National Green Tribunal to identify and reclaim such land expressing strong dissatisfaction regarding the slow progress.

According to the minutes of the seventh oversight committee meeting, merely 83.828 hectares of the total encroached forest area of 398.61 hectares in Delhi have been reclaimed so far. The Director General of Forests and Special Secretary in the Union Environment Ministry, who heads the panel, expressed strong discontent with the sluggish pace of encroachment removal in the ridge area.

The chairperson has instructed district magistrates and deputy conservators of forests to ramp up efforts in collaboration with the respective deputy commissioners of police within a specific time frame for encroachment removal.

It has been decided that all district magistrates concerned would appoint an officer from their districts as nodal officers, not below the rank of additional district magistrates, to coordinate with the respective deputy conservators of forests concerning matters related to ground-level encroachment removal.

The district magistrates have been asked to ensure regular District Task Force meetings are held every fortnight and attended by senior officers from the Revenue, Police and the Forest departments to address encroachment removal promptly.

The committee was informed about Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai's directive against conducting any encroachment removal without submitting a detailed plan to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. However, the panel's chairman emphasised that no such procedure exists for encroachment removal from forest areas.

The district magistrates and deputy conservators of forests must ensure encroachment removal adheres strictly to the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and the relevant rules, on a case-by-case basis, he said.