Home buyers to benefit from govt move on Okhla Bird Sanctuary

As many as 55,000 home buyers will benefit immediately from the government's move to reduce the area of the eco-sensitive zone around the Okhla Bird Sanctuary here, leading real estate developers said.
The Union Environment Ministry's notification last year, which has been cleared today, says that the ESZ will be the area up to 100 metre from the Eastern, Western and Southern boundary and up to 1.27 kilometres from the northern boundary of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary.
The ministry will come out with a final notification within a week, thus bringing a huge potential relief to home buyers in and around the area.

Once the notification is issued, the government will allow the home buyers outside the ESZ to get occupancy certificates of their flats, which had been pending for quite some time as the NGT had passed an order barring development of any infrastructure within 10-km radius from the sanctuary's boundary.
The decision will also help in releasing several thousand square feet of building area in future.
"It's a very good news for 55,000 buyers whose homes were ready but they could not occupy it," CREDAI President Getamber Anand said when asked about his reaction on the government's decision.

Overall, he said about one lakh homes are currently being developed in this region.

Housing projects of various developers, including Jaypee Green, DLF, ATS, 3C Developers and Supertech, were affected due to order of the National Green Tribunal, which restrained the authorities from issuing Completion Certificate to the projects which are located within 10 km radius of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary or within the Eco-Sensitive Zone.
Anand said the development would send a positive signal to Noida-Greater Noida property market and boost housing demand.
Commenting on the same, DLF Group Executive Director Rajeev Talwar said: "Extremely positive step taken by the government. Little delayed but will provide huge relief to home buyers whose flats were ready more than a year back but were unable to occupy them".

He said this would also opening up of huge employment opportunities and economic turnover when the commercial and retail establishments get occupation certificates.
"For DLF, it means opening up of the Mall of India, which is being developed in Noida, as soon as possible providing relief to hundreds of shopping and food outlets," Talwar said.
Welcoming the decision, CREDAI national vice president Rohit Raj Modi said: "This decison was awaited and much expected by the more than 50,000 families who had invested their hard-earned income for their dream home in Noida. This has come as a big relief for them".

The move would provide big boost to Noida real estate market, as buyers and investors were holding back the decision to purchase homes, he said.
Okhla Bird Sanctuary is at the Okhla barrage over Yamuna River and is situated in Noida Gautam Buddh Nagar district on Delhi-Uttar Pradesh state border.