India, Nov. 19 -- Nearly 31 years after Delhi moved to protect the southern Ridge under Section 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, the final gazette notification was issued declaring 4,080 hectares, nearly two-thirds of the total area, of this ecologically sensitive stretch as "reserve forest".

The gazette notification, issued on October 24 and published on Monday, comes after the Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta gave her approval for the same on October 13. The file was then sent to the Delhi lieutenant governor for final approval.

The development marks the most significant legal protection granted to the Ridge in decades, granting the forest and wildlife department full authority to act against any encroachments, with boundaries now c...