Noida home buyers to benefit from govt move on Okhla Bird Sanctuary

As per the new draft notification, no new commercial activity such as the establishment of hotels, resorts or any construction activity will be allowed within the eco-sensitive zone.

(For representation purpose only )
Projects within a 10-km radius of Okhla Bird Sanctuary have not been given completion certificates.

The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) gave the go-ahead for the draft notification of the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around the Okha Bird Sanctuary on Tuesday.

The approval of the draft notification has brought much relief to almost 100,000 home buyers in the region, who had been left agonizing after the NGT had ordered that constructions in a 10-km radius couldn’t be accorded completion certificates until the ESZ is given clearance by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL). Meanwhile the NGT, while directing the MoEF to finalize the notification in three weeks, has added that the notification can also be challenged by stakeholders.

The 10-km radius was based on a directive issued by the National Board for Wildlife (NBW) in 2005 that had deemed such a radius around sanctuaries to be considered eco-sensitive. The new draft notification, which was approved on Tuesday, says that the ESZ will range from 1.27 km on the northern boundary of the sanctuary till the DND flyway and 100 meters on the others.

[related-post]

As per the draft notification, no new commercial activity such as the establishment of hotels, resorts or any construction activity will be allowed within the eco-sensitive zone. Areas which will now fall under the ESZ include sector 95, Chhalera Orangabad, Nayabans areas in Noida while areas in Shaheen Bagh, Jasola, Abul Fazal enclave, Okhla, Canal colony, Joga Bai and Khizrabad in Delhi are also included in this.

Consequently, real estate projects that had been stuck in limbo since last year after NGT’s order can now be given completion certificates. According to Amit Modi, Vice President CREDAI Western UP, the NGT’s decision has “cost the local economy more than Rs 2,000 crore” with “more than 30,000 home buyers” waiting to take immediate possession of their completed apartments and “about 50,000 possessions” to take place by the end of this year.

But despite home buyers and the real estate sector rejoicing after the order, the NGT has made it clear that the notification can be challenged by stakeholders after it is finalized. On Monday, the NGT directed the MoEF to issue the final notification within “three weeks” and said that all “concerned stakeholders or aggrieved persons” could “challenge the notification in accordance with law”.

However environmentalists have raised questions about the decision, with many saying that the move will negatively affect the Okhla Bird Sanctuary – which is home to at least 10 threatened species of birds and countless migratory birds.