Kaziranga ESZ Row: Locals Move Supreme Court Against 10-km Radius, Says CM Sarma

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Amidst the controversy over the area of the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of Kaziranga National Park (KNP), Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma informed that the people of Kaliabor and Bokakhat have already been agitating against the 10-km radius of the ESZ and they have also moved the Supreme Court seeking a reduction of the ESZ so that they can continue their businesses and livelihoods around KNP.

Talking to the media today, the CM said that the Supreme Court (SC) had earlier passed a judgement that the radius of the ESZ of any national park or wildlife sanctuary should be between 1 and 3 km. "A debate has erupted after I talked about reducing the ESZ of KNP to 1 km, but the SC had already passed a judgement that the radius of any ESZ should be a minimum of 1 km. The 10 km radius is not calculated from Kohora but from the border of KNP. If the 10 km ESZ radius is implemented, it will affect the people of Kaliabor, Bokakhat, Gohpur, Biswanath Chariali, etc. Even the Numaligarh refinery will come within the 10-km radius," he said.

Regarding the status of ESZs, the SC's judgement acknowledges, "While an unnotified boundary defaults to 10 km, a uniform blanket of 10 km restriction is not always perfect; allowing state-specific notifications (1 to 3 km) provides that wildlife is preserved."

The SC also observed that "A permanent ban applies to commercial mining and stone digging inside KNP and within a 1-km radius of its boundaries, including animal corridors and Karbi Anglong catchment areas."

Official sources said that the government is proposing to notify the ESZ from 1 to 3 km, as per SC guidelines, from the boundary of the park, ensuring developmental activities like homes for the indigenous communities, hospitals, etc., as well as balancing developmental aspirations and nature conservation in line with evolving demands. The government is not altering Kaziranga's boundaries; it is defining them, they added.

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