Punjab is in no mood to follow other states, including Chandigarh, which have revised the radius to 2.5 kilometers. The proposal to drastically reduce the eco-sensitive zone has been sent to the Union ministry of environment for approval.

Even though the state government claims that an expansive zone of 10 kilometers is unreasonable, locals alleges that the move will only encourage real estate development as presently projects have to go through the tedious process of seeking environment approvals.

So when chief minister Parkash Singh Badal met Union minister of environment Prakash Javadekar last week, he insisted that large eco zones were a "genuine problem in view of heavy population and limited area of the state because it was hampering the development activities".

On the other hand, wildlife lovers feel the zones need to be protected. "There are locals living around Nangal wetland who are known to disturb migratory birds. There is massive construction all around Bir Motibagh in Patiala, with residential colonies are coming up. Such a move will only create disturbances," said Kamal Verma, a wildlife photographer from Patiala.

Ecologist T K Roy, who is Delhi state coordinator for Wetlands International South Asia, conducted a census of some of the wildlife sanctuaries in January. He has expressed concern over villagers poaching, fishing and intruding into the habitat over winged guests to Ropar Lake in his report.

However, justifying the move, chief wildlife warden of Punjab, Dharindra Singh said, "The 10-kilometer radius is the default eco-sensitive zone fixed by the Centre. But there is no need for such a restriction as most sanctuaries in Punjab are relatively small."

The total area under wildlife sanctuaries in the state is 32,370.64 hectares. Punjab's Wildlife Preservation Wing is responsible for the protection, conservation and management of wildlife both in nature as well as in captivity.