Defending the Assam government’s proposal to reduce the eco-sensitive zone around Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve to 1 km from 10 km, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday the decision was in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines.

On August 8, Sarma had said the eco-sensitive zone around the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is home to the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, was 10 km “by default”. The Assam government would send a proposal to the Union government within two months to reduce the limit to 1 km to allow development activities in the area, including the construction of a stadium, he had added.

In June 2022, the Supreme Court ordered that eco-sensitive zones of at least 1 km should be declared around protected forests, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

However, in April 2023, the court modified the order after states and the Union government argued that uniformly applying the 1-km requirement was not feasible and it had to be “protected area-specific”.

On Wednesday, Sarma said that the top court “itself had stated that the eco-sensitive zone would be of 1 km”, reported Hindustan Times.

“But till the state government doesn't notify the ESZ, the limit of that zone would be 10 km,” he added. “Once the state notifies the ESZ properly, it will come down to 1 km, which is what the apex court had specified.”

He claimed that if the state government was to maintain the 10 km limit around Kaziranga, “then towns like Kaliabar, Doboka, Jakhalabandha, Bokakhat would not remain”.

“There’s no wildlife sanctuary in the world which has an ESZ of 10 km surrounding it,” the Bharatiya Janata Party leader added.

He said that he was being criticised by some persons who did not understand the matter and advised them to examine the Supreme Court order, The Hindu reported.

In its 2023 order, the Supreme Court said that strict compliance with its earlier order could lead to increased human-animal conflict and hamper the day-to-day activities of people living around protected areas. However, it prohibited mining within 1 km of protected areas.

The Assam government proposal to reduce the eco-sensitive zone has drawn criticism from environmentalists and conservationists, who have raised concerns about its impact on wildlife movement around Kaziranga.

Animals, including rhinos, elephants and deer, leave the park during annual floods in search of higher ground, while several identified wildlife corridors connecting Kaziranga to the Karbi Anglong Hills extend beyond the proposed 1-km zone, they have argued. They have also warned that a smaller buffer could increase human-wildlife conflict.

Written by Tanya Shrivastava. Edited by Sneha.

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