Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, announced that the Delhi Ridge will be transformed into a lush green zone — the city's 'Green Lungs' — within the next three years, signalling a renewed push for ecological restoration of the capital's most critical forest reserve.

Context

In his post on X, Amit Shah stated: 'Dilli ke Ridge ko agle teen varshon mein hara-bhara banakar ise Dilli ka Green Lungs banaya jayega' ('The Delhi Ridge will be made green and lush in the next three years and turned into Delhi's Green Lungs'). The announcement frames the Ridge's ecological revival as a defined, time-bound commitment rather than a long-term aspiration.

The Delhi Ridge is a northern extension of the ancient Aravalli hills, notified as a Reserved Forest under the Indian Forest Act in 1994. Spanning several thousand hectares across the capital, it is widely recognised as the city's primary natural air filter and biodiversity corridor.

Policy Backdrop

The Ridge has been protected on paper for decades. The National Forest Policy 1988 set a national target of 33 percent forest cover, a goal later reinforced by the Green India Mission launched in 2014. The Delhi Master Plan 2041, notified in 2021, explicitly mandates preservation and enhancement of the Ridge as a critical green buffer for the National Capital Region.

Despite these protections, the Ridge has faced persistent pressure from encroachment, illegal construction, and degraded vegetation. Central agencies have periodically announced plantation drives and restoration targets, but sustained implementation has remained a challenge requiring coordination across multiple bodies.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of a restored Ridge would be Delhi's estimated 3.3 crore residents, who contend with some of the world's worst urban air quality. A healthier Ridge could moderate urban heat, support groundwater recharge, and provide a pollution buffer for adjoining residential zones.

Effective execution will require close coordination between the Union Home Ministry, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) — the agency responsible for land-use planning and Ridge maintenance under the Delhi Master Plan. Environmental civil-society groups and urban local bodies are also key stakeholders who have long advocated for Ridge protection.

What's Next

The three-year timeline set by Shah means implementation milestones would fall within the current government's term. Observers will watch for formal budget allocations, the constitution of any new Ridge management committee, and plantation targets to be disclosed in the next budget cycle.

Parliamentary questions and Delhi Assembly scrutiny are likely to follow, with opposition parties and environmental groups expected to seek specifics on funding, agency mandates, and measurable green-cover targets. India's commitments under international climate agreements add an additional layer of accountability to urban forestry pledges of this scale.