Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The central and Assam governments are planning to use 38.6 hectares (ha) land from buffer zone of Orang Tiger Reserve to construct a 2-lane paved shoulder road, including a bridge over river Brahmaputra connecting the Morigaon and Darrang districts. For the use of land from buffer zone of Orang Tiger Reserve, the Assam government had earlier moved the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).
So far, the approval from NBWL is pending, and its standing committee has decided to visit the site along with representatives from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and representatives from WII, NTCA, etc. The standing committee also held a meeting on the subject under the chairmanship of Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav.
According to the minutes of the meeting dated May 9, 2025, the proposal for use of 38.6 ha of non-forest land from buffer zone of Orang Tiger Reserve for construction of a 2-lane road with paved shoulders from Basnaghat (Morigaon) to Bhuragaon to Burigaon (Kharupetia), including a new 2-lane major bridge over river Brahmaputra from Design Km 19.680 to Design Km 59.030 section of NH-715A in favour of PWD, Nagaon NH Division in Darrang District, Assam, was examined during the meeting.
During the meeting, the standing committee was informed that the proposal has been recommended by the Chief Wild Life Warden (CWLW), the State Board for Wild Life and the state government. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has suggested the constitution of a committee for a site visit for a comprehensive appraisal of the project proposal.
After discussions, the Standing Committee decided that a site inspection committee comprising the representatives of the Ministry, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), NTCA, CWLW and the User Agency may be constituted for a comprehensive appraisal of the project proposal.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has already earmarked Rs 3,706 crore for the project in its annual plan for the state of Assam in the financial year 2024-25.
It may be mentioned here that the proposed length of the bridge over the Brahmaputra River is around 7.6 km.
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