Delhi Metro Phase 4 Gets Supreme Court Nod With Strict Ecological Safeguards As Corridor Cuts Through Aravalli Ridge

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (29 April) allowed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to proceed with construction work for Phase 4 of the metro, subject to strict ecological safeguards as prescribed by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC).

The court’s decision came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for DMRC, submitted that the Corporation would “strictly abide” by the 10 conditions laid down by the CEC, Indian Express reported.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and A G Masih, while granting permission, directed that the conditions be “scrupulously complied with”.

Phase 4 has two metro lines, Inderlok to Indraprastha and Lajpat Nagar to Saket G Block, which will cut through a 28,685 square meter morphological ridge. The ridge is an Aravalli range rocky outcrop and is crucial to the ecological well-being of Delhi and protected by multiple judicial rulings.

The first corridor would impact 20,915 square metres and 122 trees, while the second, after design revisions, would impact 7,770 square metres and necessitate cutting of just six trees, the 25 April report of the CEC stated.

The board requested DMRC to seek prior permission under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, to plant 1,280 indigenous trees as compensation, deposit 5 per cent of the project cost with the Ridge Management Board (RMB), and relocate affected trees under professional supervision.

The CEC held DMRC responsible for its previous offenses, i.e., the illegal construction that took place in 2020 on forest land between Mukarba Chowk and Janakpuri.

It recommended filing a legal case against the then Chief Project Manager, C P Singh, for violations of the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980.

Also, the CEC had expressed worry over the delay in the Ridge Interpretation Centre close to Patel Chowk, a Supreme Court mandated centre for public awareness about ridge ecology. DMRC has now assured completion by April 2026.

Phase IV was approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2024 and will probably be commissioned by 2029. Civil works are expected to begin immediately.

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