HC summons Kaziranga panel

Dispur's tardiness on encroachers at tiol park annoys court

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, May 29: Annoyed at the Assam government’s failure to clear encroachments in Kaziranga tiol Park, the Gauhati High Court has asked the members of the high powered committee, who were all nomited by the government, to appear before it persolly.

The court in December last had asked the State government to nomite members for the committee which will look after the issue of identification of encroachers and illegal migrants in the park with a view to evict them.

The State government had notified the committee in January, but the panel paid its first visit to the park only this week.

Today, a division bench of the court comprising Chief Justice (acting) K Shreedhar Rao and Justice PK Saikia asked the members of the committee to appear before it on June 2.

The court observed that the State government in its affidavit in August last year, had assured that all the six additions will be handed over to the park authorities by March this year. But that is yet to materialise.

“The State government failed to adhere to the deadline it had set for itself. Not even a single encroacher has been evicted till date,” petitioner's advocate Rita Boro Bora said.

The high powered team conducted a survey of Kaziranga Park on Sunday and directed local authorities to clear the encroachments within one month.

The committee was led by Commissioner and Secretary (Revenue) PK Tiwari and it comprised a representative from the State Home department, IGP (border), MHA, NTCA and the Kaziranga Director.

During the day-long survey, the committee is understood to have detected encroachments on several tracts in the additions to the park.

Encroachments were also found in the animal corridors at Bandardubi and Deusar areas.

Though the park authorities have been claiming that there were patta holders in the park areas, the committee reported cases in which the settlers were not the origil patta holders.