HC sets deadline

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, January 9: The Gauhati High Court has set a 3–month deadline to the State government for citizenship verification of people living in the sixth addition of the park.

Based on a PIL (no. 67/2012), the High Court bench comprising Chief Justice (acting) K Sreedhar Rao and Justice PK Saikia, issued this order on Thursday. The PIL urged the State government to verify the identification of people living in that area before their resettlement, as many doubtful citizens are there in that area.

Earlier, the High Court, based on the same PIL, constituted a committee with State and Central government officials to look into the identification process but later expressed its unhappiness with the functioning of the committee.

At present around 30,000 people, many of whom are doubtful citizens, have made the sixth addition of the Kaziranga tiol Park their home.

Though the State government issued a gazette notification on August 18, 1999 notifying the sixth addition of the park, it is yet to be officially handed over to the park authorities due to several problems, including legal problem.