The proposal of creating an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around city’s Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary is inching towards its finality. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has sent UT Administration’s ESZ draft to Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun for vetting.
The Administration had submitted the ESZ proposal to the Ministry in the month of May. Now, the MoEF has sent UT’ ESZ draft to WII for vetting and is likely to approve the same shortly.
The Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary spreads over an area of 26 sq km. According to the UT officials, “The catchment area around the Sanctuary is around 36 running kilometers. Out of the total area of the catchment, about 2 km falls under the jurisdiction of the UT Administration and rest falls under the jurisdiction of the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana.”
Recently, the UT Administration had written to neighboring state governments of Punjab and Haryana asking them to submit their respective ESZ proposals around the Sanctuary before the deadline that ends on July 15.
The MoEF had recently extended the deadline of submitting the ESZ proposal to July 15.
The Administration had also apprized the neighboring governments about the submission of UT’s ESZ proposal to MoEF. Of the total catchment area of the Sukhna lake, nearly 29 sq km falls in Chandigarh, 2.77 sq km in Punjab and about 10.22 sq km in Haryana.
A senior official of the UT Administration said, “The MoEF has sent UT’s ESZ draft of Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary to WII for vetting. And, the Union Ministry is likely to approve UT’s draft soon.”
In its draft, the UT Administration has proposed an area ranging from 2 km to 2.75 km as the ESZ around the Sanctuary. As per the draft, the construction instead of being prohibited should be regulated. low-density and low-rise buildings are proposed in the area falling in the ESZ.
“No mining or hazardous industry should be permitted in the ESZ. No expansion of the road outside the Sanctuary should be permitted, No deep bore well should be dug for commercial/large scale users. And, all existing water bodes and indigenous floral and faunal diversity within the zone should be protected,” proposes UT Administration’s ESZ draft.