Overview
- The CJI Surya Kant-led bench urged a shift from a Delhi-centric view of greenery, stressing a coordinated approach that also considers neighbouring states.
- The Centre told the court it issued a December 1, 2025 notification to constitute the Delhi Ridge Management Board, with the government’s counsel indicating reconstitution is still pending.
- The bench ordered an affidavit detailing the composition, legal basis and scope of all statutory and non-statutory bodies managing forests and green areas to identify overlap.
- Justices questioned why the court-appointed Central Empowered Committee could not handle Delhi’s Ridge matters and flagged potential conflicts of interest in a board dominated by government agencies.
- In a November 11 direction, the court had sought statutory status for the DRMB under the Environment (Protection) Act and designated it as a single-window authority for Ridge and Morphological Ridge matters.