NGT reserves order on plea to ban constructions near Okhla

The National Green Tribunal today reserved its order on a plea seeking prevention of "illegal and unauthorised" constructions by builders within the 10-km radius of the Okhla bird sanctuary, claimed to be an eco- sensitive zone, in Uttar Pradesh.
A bench headed by Justice P Jyothimani reserved its order for October 28 after hearing extensive arguments from the builders who claimed the 10 km radius around the sanctuary has not been declared an eco-sensitive zone.
The tribunal had on September 18 directed the Noida and Gautam Budh Nagar authorities to ensure that no construction work is carried out in the 49 projects around the sanctuary.

Pursuance to this order, SSP Noida had given notice to all builders to stop construction.
The builders then approached the tribunal claiming that there is no such order or notification declaring it a sensitive zone.
Also, the Uttar Pradesh government today submitted its notification dated May 8, 1990 by which it said the Okhla bird sanctuary was notified as a sanctuary under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act.

During the arguments, the builders contended that the area around the sanctuary has not been declared a sensitive zone and stressed that they are not against the sanctuary as they "want it to survive since it is the beauty of their projects".

The tribunal was hearing the plea of Noida resident Amit Kumar who sought prevention of the allegedly illegal and unauthorised construction being undertaken by builders within the 10-km radius of the sanctuary.
The petition, filed through advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, contended that without obtaining any prior clearance from the NBWL or State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), around 55 builders are carrying on construction work around the sanctuary.