Punjab Cabinet should reject eco-sensitive zone up to 3 km: Vineet Joshi

Houses, shops, hospitals, religious places, hotels, etc, of Kansal, Karoran and Nadda falling under Nayagaon Municipal Committee of Mohali district will face demolition if the Punjab Cabinet approves the proposed notification on eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary in the upcoming Cabinet meeting.

Punjab BJP leader Vineet Joshi flanked by councillors and social religious leaders of Nayagaon, stated this in a press conference in Chandigarh.

Contradicting their own stand of over 10 years to keep the limits of the ESZ at 100m from the boundary of the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, now the Punjab Department of Forest and Wildlife Protection has proposed to increase the ESZ upto 3 km, added Joshi.

Joshi reasoned that a 100m ESZ was sufficient for Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary is a Category D wildlife sanctuary and was authenticated by Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.

He questioned why the Punjab Government officers were so insensitive towards the poor and lower-middle-class people and took a contradictory approach that would affect around two lakh residents.

These houses, flats, shops, hospitals, etc, are all legal entities with the Punjab Government’s approval.

He said that this single decision would deprive lakhs of lower-middle-class and poor people — who had built small houses with their life’s savings — of their properties. The irony is that the Kansal, Nayagaon, Nada and Karoran villages existed even before the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary came into existence, still, they will face hardships for no fault of theirs.

Joshi asked the Punjab Government to reject the proposal of the Department of Forest and Wildlife Protection, Punjab.