According to a recent World Bank report, India presently accounts for a meagre 1.8% of the global forest cover. Even more concerning is the fact that an enormous ‘46,759 acres of forest-land have been sanctioned for mining’ across the country, over the course of the last five years, by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) itself. According to many ace climate scientists and researchers, our planet has already hit “the tipping point”. In this backdrop, the people’s struggle to save Dwarka Forest, one of the last remaining natural forest lands in a choking capital city, is a critical instance of environmental-resistance movements getting resurrected at the grassroots.
The roots of the movement
Exactly one year ago is when it all came into being. It started with a forwarded message from a friend along with a line which read, “You have got to see this atrocity!” It was a news story about one of the oldest natural parks in Delhi (which also harboured a significant population of protected wildlife), getting permanently shut down. The authorities also planned to shift its entire population of Spotted Deer to wild habitats, to eventually be left as prey for apex predators there.
Read more: Delhi deer park closure: Be dear to our deer, say city’s nature lovers
Having spent formative years of my childhood growing-up in close proximity to the Deer Park in Hauz Khas, a flood of nostalgic memories gushed through my head. The very next day, I shared the story in a Delhi-based environmental organisation’s online group, asking them to hold a non-disruptive protest, in support of retaining the park along with its inhabitants. A prompt discussion then ensued.
Somewhere in the course of that discussion, a young citizen named Naveen Solanki, shared a message which read:
“I need help in protecting a natural forest spread across 120 acres, near my native village, right next to the IGI Airport in Delhi. It is being rapidly destroyed by Railways Land and Development Authority (RLDA) for its redevelopment project and much more. It is home to several species of wildlife including the Nilgai and birds as well.”
Going through it, I felt a spectrum of emotions surfacing in me — from seething rage to sheer hopelessness. I requested him for a call, to learn more about this forest and related issues.
After speaking with Naveen, I came to know about the threat that loomed over the Dwarka Forest. Naveen had been the lead whistleblower in this case — he had patrolled the forest while reaching out to several Delhi-based environmentalists for support over the last two years, in order to secure protection for it, but with no success. Many environmentalists, despite being made aware of the on-ground situation, didn’t even visit the forest, let alone fight to save it.
“Nobody is interested, not even so-called environmentalists. Also, most Dwarka residents aren’t even aware that a forest exists here,” Naveen told me in a rather dispirited tone. I figured we shared the same feeling of despair over the depleting green cover in Delhi and the callous treatment of biodiversity. But despite the situation looking grim, we assured each other things would improve.
From advocacy to action
With a sense of comradeship already established between us, we started deliberations on how to launch a campaign for protecting the Dwarka Forest. Given my skills in multimedia and graphic design application, I took command of putting the right information out there to enlighten the public about this case, using social media conduits. Naveen, on the other hand, handled business on ground as usual.
Like a hawk, he watched over the forest, detecting and documenting all the non-forest activities undertaken by the RLDA and other entities involved. With the facts in place, we made sure they were communicated and placed in the public domain in a timely manner: full-grown trees being buried alive, water-bodies being dumped with C&D waste, or wildlife in the forest harmed and displaced.
Meanwhile, we also kept researching legal options and possible litigation, connecting with like-minded allies for advice and help.
Another six months passed and the destruction in the forest escalated. We were growing impatient with each passing day and were in dire need of a breakthrough. To add to our despondency, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruled Dwarka Forest as non-protected land back in February this year, in what can rightly be termed as a case of ‘hasty hearing’. In effect, this gave RLDA and others unrestricted access, to wipe the entire forest out.
It must also be noted that only six days after this NGT ruling, the Supreme Court of India gave back the protection status to ‘Deemed Forests’ in the country, in a separate hearing.
All our hopes at the time took a steep dive and came crashing down like a house of cards. The only option which now remained was approaching the apex court of our country and that’s what we shifted our entire focus on.
After many meetings and outreach efforts, we were able to gather unwavering support from Greenpeace India, Fridays for Future Delhi, Climate Front India, Youth for Climate India and Green Pencil Foundation. With the ‘Fantastic Five’ (as I like to call them) coming together to ‘Save Dwarka Forest’, things again started looking up.
What was earlier a set of isolated efforts now became a people’s movement. Messages of support and solidarity from folks across the country poured in. Soon enough, we were able to plan and conduct the very first forest-walk for Delhi residents and all of them, upon witnessing the situation, pledged their prolonged support for sustaining the movement.
A brief timeline
1960s – The 120-acre land was acquired by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in the 1960s and then by the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) around 2008.
2008 – From around 2008 a natural forest grew on its own on the land.
2021 – RLDA launched its Bijwasan Railway Redevelopment Project in 2021. During the above project, RLDA contractors, instead of felling or cutting the full-grown trees, buried them alive in the soil. They had no permission to do so from the Forest Dept. of Delhi.
2022 – The Forest Department of Delhi imposed a fine of Rs 5.93 crore on RLDA for illegal felling/burying of 990 trees in the area back in 2022 on the complaints of Naveen Solanki.
Cutting trees in the city requires permission from the Forest Department under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994. However, if an area is a protected forest or deemed forest, permission is also required under the Forest Conservation Act, 2023.
2022 – After paying the fine in 2022, RLDA again started cutting trees and burying them alive.
2022 to 2023 – Several complaint letters (both online and offline) were sent after to the Forest Department of Delhi, DCF West’s office and in the MoEFCC as well, but no acknowledgement came from any of them..
2024 – In February 2024, the National Green Tribunal ruled that the land on which the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) is constructing the Bijwasan Rail Terminal station in Dwarka is not a protected forest or deemed forest area. 2024 – Petition is filed in SC of India and first hearing took place on 17 September, 2024. The case is still ongoing.
Taking the legal route
Eventually, a petition was finally filed by our counsel — Adv. Ankur Sood, Adv. Dhaman Trivedi, Adv. Manan Verma, Adv. Madhur Panjwani and Adv. Prashant Soni, in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. The very first hearing for Dwarka Forest took place on September 17, 2024.
On the request of our counsel including Adv. Gopal Sankarnarayanan, the bench comprising Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Pankaj Mithal, ordered an “immediate stay on any construction and felling of trees on the subject land”. It seemed like the apex court that day, upheld its motto — “Where there is righteousness and moral duty, there is victory.”
A copy of the stay order was sent to respondents — Railways Land Development Authority (RLDA), Northern Railways, Ministry of Railways and Bagmane Developers respectively.
The second hearing in the Dwarka Forest case took place yesterday on October 21, 2024. The bench comprised of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih dismissed the plea of respondents to vacate the stay order on subject land. The next hearing is scheduled for December 13th, 2024. Until then, no construction (no matter how crucial or urgent) and cutting or damage to trees is allowed.
It is to be noted, however, that even after the Court’s stay order in the first hearing (September 17th), our team witnessed several violations as they patrolled the forests. The couple of images below stand as evidence of the same.
Thus, while we have come a significant way from where we started, we are also conscious that our fight is far from over. In fact, it has only just begun. The question, now, is would you also like to join us in this critical fight for the future?
Connect with us on Instagram at @savedwarkaforest, to learn more on how you can join and support the campaign.