In a significant development, the UT Administration today agreed to reduce the stretch of the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary to less than 2.5 km. The UT has to declare and submit the report on the ESZ to the Ministry of Environment and Forests before May 15. Today, in the meeting chaired by UT Administrator Shivraj V Patil, the UT officials discussed as to in how much area around the sanctuary developmental activities should be prohibited. Initially, the officials were of the view that the developmental activities in the 3-km area around the sanctuary should be regulated, but today the officials agreed to declare less than 2.5-km area as the eco-sensitive zone. Recently, in the meeting chaired by UT Advisor KK Sharma, the UT officials had given green signal to the ESZ. A senior official of the UT Administration said the UT Administrator had in principal approved the eco-sensitive zone. He pointed out some technical lapses, which would be sorted out soon, the official said. Recently, the Ministry of Environment and Forests had extended the deadline from February 15 to May 15 as the UT Administration failed to declare the eco-sensitive zone on time. In a strong-worded letter to the Administration, the Ministry had warned that if it failed to meet the deadline, the Ministry would declare the 10-km stretch around the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary as the eco-sensitive zone where development projects would be banned. The Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary catchment area is around 36 km, out of which only 2 km falls under the jurisdiction of the UT Administration and the remaining area is in Punjab and Haryana. What is eco-sensitive zone An eco-sensitive zone is a fragile ecosystem area where conservation or preservation of natural environment is sustained by state control and grants. In a bid to prevent ecological damage caused due to development activities around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has come out with new guidelines to create eco-sensitive zones that will work as shock absorbers for the protected areas. The aim is to regulate certain activities around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to minimise the negative impact of such activities on the fragile ecosystem.