SEMINAR 613 – September 2010 48 Fight for a forest RAVI AGARWAL From where comes this greenery and flowers? What makes the clouds and the air? – Mirza Ghalib THE battle for protecting Delhi’s green lungs, its prehistoric urban for- est, has never been more intense than now. The newly global city, located in a cusp formed by the tail end of the 1.5 billion year old, 800 km long Aravalli mountain range as it culminates at the river Yamuna, is the aspirational capi- tal of over 15 million people. The hilly spur known as the Delhi Ridge once occupied almost 15% of the city’s land, though much of it has been flattened. The decidu- ous arid scrub forest of the ridge still provides an unique ecosystem, which today lies in the heart of the modern city, and is critical for its ecological health. Though citizen’s action has managed to legally protect 1 about 7800 ha of the forest scattered in four * Ravi Agarwal is member of Srishti and founding Director of Toxics Link, both envi- ronmental NGOs. He has been involved in the ridge campaign since 1992, and was inducted into the Ridge Management Board in 2005. He is an engineer by training.