Housing projects boom around Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary

Around 15 real estate projects are underway on the

42-km long road from Sanand to Nal Sarovar. According to real estate developers,this trend is going to improve with more groups set to come with education projects in and around the region.

Greenwoods Limited,a real estate company,has been developing two plot schemes on the road,Sarovar I and Sarovar II. When asked as to why this location was selected for the project,Anurag Agarwal,managing director of the company,said,“First of all,the area is well connected by road and is close to Ahmedabad. Moreover,the land rates are relatively low.”

He added that with land in the Ahmedabad city almost becoming unaffordable for the middle class,this place could provide them the chance to build a “comfortable home”.

Tushar Amin,managing director of Krishna Realtors,said that except for the Sanand-Nalsarovar region in Ahmedabad,all other corners have been left with “no possibility” of real estate development. “In such a situation,the Sanand-Nal Sarovar road is the ideal place for the real estate development,” he added.

He went on to say that with Tata’s Nano car project coming up at Sanand and many other educational projects in the pipeline,the area is going to be a hot spot for the residential purpose in the next decade.

Interestingly,contrary to the general belief that these projects may affect the sanctuary,which attracts a number of migratory birds especially during winter,forest officials say the construction is neither going to affect the birds nor the sanctuary.

Deputy Conservator of Forest B B Modi said: “Our only concern is that the sewage water of the nearby localities should not be released in the wetland. At present,all the schemes are using soak pits for disposal of wastewater so that the problem gets cured. We are sure that proper drainage line will come up in future.”

Modi said the sanctuary might get affected if some industry came up in the region. “The government will not sanction any industrial project here. Also for the residential purpose,only two-storey buildings are allowed outside a five-km radius of the sanctuary,” he added.