The sanctuary came about into existence with the construction of the Okhla Barrage way back in the late 1950s and 1960s and is right on the Yamuna River between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh at the south-eastern end of Delhi on one side and the western boundary of NOIDA.

With Yamuna River being on the route of Migratory Birds and providing large space with suitable habitat on its both banks and suitable food in plenty, the birds had been using this area as a staging post for their migration both ways during the winter.

It is understood that the area, approximately four square kilo metres, was notified as a Bird Park and Wild Life Sanctuary in 1990 with the boundaries as stated and depicted in the map above. It is now a Protected Area and a suitable candidate for being selected as a Ramsar Wetland.