Decision in a week on development around Okhla sanctuary

An order has stopped the Noida authority from giving completion certificates to projects within a 10 km radius around the sanctuary

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday said a final decision on the demarcation of an eco-sensitive zone around the Okhla Bird Sanctuary will be taken within a week.

"The final notification on the justifiable limits around the Okhla bird sanctuary (in south Delhi) will be out within a week," Javadekar, the environment, forest and climate change minister, told reporters.

The notification will be a major relief for thousands of distressed house owners and buyers around the sanctuary located in Noida.

"This is a relief for people who have booked flats there," he added.

The eco-sensitive zone is likely to comprise of 100 metres from the eastern, western and southern boundary and up to 1.27 km from the northern boundary of the bird sanctuary.

A National Green Tribunal order has stopped the Noida authority from giving completion certificates to projects within a 10 km radius around the sanctuary.