Noida | Aug 18, 2015: In what could be a prelude to easier liberalisation of environmental regulations to foster development, particularly affordable housing, the government is set to ease environment regulations around the Okhla Bird Sanctuary in New Delhi as part of efforts to salvage stuck housing projects and provide relief to hundreds of buyers.
While government officials termed the development as a one-off case pertaining to a particular area--Noida, the move signals a shift in the policy stance of finding a middle-path to resolve the problem of rigid environment laws coming in the way of faster development.
Since 2010, India's economic growth has been retarded following delays or rejection of environmental and other clearances to infrastructure projects.
After months of uncertainty, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) today said it would issue a final notification on the environmentally sensitive zone around Delhi’s Okhla Bird Sanctuary. This comes after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked the government to consider only an area of 1 km as the eco sensitive zone. It is pertinent to mention that back in 2014 the NGT had banned construction work within a 10 km radius of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary.
Bloomberg TV India has learnt that about 95 per cent of the work on the final notification on the eco sensitive zone is complete and the notification will be out in a week. The MoEF notification will apply to bird sanctuaries, national parks in Noida, Delhi and Haryana.
As many as 20 housing projects being built by realtors like Jaypee Infratech and DLF in Noida and its vicinity were stalled due to the NGT ban.
The notification will end the ban on construction works undertaken by developers within a 10 km radius of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary.
The Tribunal had issued various directions requiring Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana to furnish their response to the MoEF and had also directed the latter to issue a notification for fixing an ‘eco-sensitive zone’ as per the powers conferred under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
While the last four years of the UPA regime was mired by stalling of projects worth over Rs 20 lakh crore, the Narendra Modi government is trying to ease clearances to speed up economic growth.
As against the restrictive policies of UPA when the environment ministry under Jairam Ramesh denied green clearances to 203 coal blocks because they fell in the "no-go" areas, the NDA government has attempted to ease rules.
Since coming to power, the Modi government has cleared 130 projects including mining pits, power plants and a defence testing site close to protected wildlife areas.
While ensuring all precautions are taken to ensure that there is minimal adverse impact on wildlife, the Modi government has cleared limestone quarrying projects at five spots close to Gujarat’s Barda sanctuary in Porbandar. Three limestone mines was cleared within 6 km of Mukundra Hill Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. An intelligence bureau office will border the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh. In Madhya Pradesh, mining has been allowed within 10 km of Sanjay Tiger Reserve in Sidhi, Son Ghariyal Wildlife Sanctuary and Kanha National Park.
Diversion of forestland from the Kerala’s Periyar Tiger Reserve was allowed to increase the height of the Kunnar Dam. In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, a Defence Research and Development Organisation testing facility is to come up along the Bay of Bengal coast, close to a rare Olive Ridley turtle nesting site.
(Source: http://www.btvin.com/)