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The National Green Tribunal has disposed of a plea seeking to classify 95 acres of land earmarked for the redevelopment of Bijwasan railway station in southwest Delhi as deemed forest. The tribunal said the Supreme Court had already settled the legal status of the land and held that its subsequent vegetation growth could not change the land-use position established under the statutory Master Plan. The Supreme Court had earlier found that the land was acquired as agricultural land and was not recorded or declared as forest when the Master Plan came into force. The NGT has now applied that ruling to the 95-acre parcel.
The National Green Tribunal has disposed of a plea challenging the proposed use of around 95 acres of land for the redevelopment of Bijwasan railway station in Dwarka, Delhi. The plea had sought to have the land declared as deemed forest under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, arguing that the area should receive protection under forest conservation laws.
The tribunal noted that the Supreme Court had already examined the legal character of the larger project land in its March 2026 judgment and had upheld the earlier NGT decision. The Supreme Court had considered historical revenue records, the acquisition of the land and its inclusion in the Delhi Master Plan before deciding that the land could not subsequently acquire the status of deemed forest merely because vegetation had grown on it.
The 95-acre parcel forms part of a larger 125-acre tract in southwest Delhi. According to the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd, Bijwasan is an existing station on the Delhi-Rewari railway line and has been proposed for redevelopment as an integrated metropolitan passenger terminal. The project is intended to increase the number and capacity of terminal stations in Delhi and support the city's wider transport infrastructure.
The dispute centred on whether the land could be treated as deemed forest because of the vegetation that had developed on the site over the years. The Supreme Court found that the land had originally been part of a larger agricultural tract acquired in 1986 and allotted for development of the Bijwasan Integrated Passenger Terminal. It was also incorporated into Master Plan 2021. At the time the Master Plan was formulated, the land had not been notified, declared or treated as forest or deemed forest.
The Supreme Court also held that the statutory force of an approved Master Plan cannot be overridden simply because vegetation or trees subsequently appear on land. It noted that the legal character of land has to be assessed with reference to its historical use, revenue records and planning status at the relevant time. The court also distinguished natural forest ecosystems from later growth of vegetation, particularly invasive species.
The NGT has now applied that finding to the 95-acre portion as well. The tribunal said that the Supreme Court had already considered the larger project area and settled the issue of its legal status. It therefore found no need to reopen the question of whether the land qualified as deemed forest.
At the same time, the NGT has said that the environmental safeguards and directions issued by the Supreme Court will continue to apply to the 95-acre area. These include making maximum efforts to transplant native and indigenous trees, protecting existing trees and carrying out compensatory afforestation before work begins.
The Supreme Court's ruling followed an appeal against an earlier NGT decision concerning railway land near the New Bijwasan Railway Station. The dispute had involved a railway land parcel of about 1,24,000 square metres, or 12.40 hectares, and questions over whether tree cutting for the proposed development required approval under the forest conservation law.
The latest NGT order removes another legal challenge concerning the 95-acre portion of the project land, while retaining the environmental safeguards prescribed by the Supreme Court. This allows the railway redevelopment proposal to proceed within the framework already laid down by the court.
Source PTI
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