SC order: ESZ around Chandaka and Nandankanan can be a challenge

BHUBANESWAR: The recent order of the Supreme Court (SC) mandating eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of a minimum one km around protected forests, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries is likely to make it tricky for the State government to ensure the same in Bhubaneswar which is home to two sanctuaries -- Nandankanan and Chandaka.For the real estate sector, it might come as a dampener because a slew of projects had come up and are planned in the State capital.

The Apex Court on Friday ruled that protected forests, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the country should have a mandatory ESZ of a minimum of one km from their demarcated boundaries.

The court in its direction held that if a national park or protected forest already has a buffer zone extending beyond one km, it would continue to prevail. However, in case the extent of the buffer zone is pending a statutory decision, the court’s direction to maintain the one km safety zone would be applicable until a final decision arrives under the law.

Insiders in the forest department, however, said that implementing the order around the Nandankanan and Chandaka wildlife sanctuary, where a major part of the buffer zone has already been subjected to rapid urbanisation would be a challenge. The Nandankanan Sanctuary has a 4.37 square km protected area and the maximum length of the ESZ around the sanctuary is 340 metres between pillar number 87 and 112 towards Daruthenga. There has been no ESZ demarcated between pillar number 131 and 137 of the sanctuary as it goes with a PWD road along with Chandaka-Dampara sanctuary, while the ESZ towards Bhubaneswar block would be less than 200 metres. 

In such a situation, officials said, implementation of the order would require bringing huge patch of Bhubaneswar block as well as Raghunathpur, Kendupatna, Baranga etc, under the ESZ fold.“Bringing part of these areas under Nandankanan Eco-Sensitive Zone and preventing any new construction and other activities banned for ESZ in those parts will be an extremely difficult task as the localities on the city outskirts have already witnessed rapid expansion,” said a senior forest official.

Another official from the department said the creation of one km ESZ around Chandaka will also be a herculean task given the development the unregulated part of the buffer zone has witnessed, especially towards the Bhubaneswar side in the last two decades. 

“The government has to follow a strict approach to bring these areas under ESZ fold and prevent the activities that are not allowed in such zones,” he said. For real estate companies, the move will have a huge impact on the sector which was booming in those areas.CREDAI Odisha chairman DS Tripathy said a number of housing and real estate projects have come up in the area, next to Nandankanan and Chandaka in the recent years and the new projects in the sector may get affected like any other sector. He, however, said that the creation of ESZ is equally necessary to maintain ecological balance and promotion of sustainable growth.