Guwahati, April 23: In a significant coverage reversal, the Assam authorities has formally withdrawn its proposal for an Built-in Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) across the Kaziranga Nationwide Park and Tiger Reserve (KNP&TR), citing the potential socio-economic hardships it might inflict on lakhs of residents and unsettled community rights.
The transfer was communicated to the Centre by way of a letter dated April 22, 2025, by Assam’s Chief Secretary Dr. Ravi Kota, addressed to the Ministry of Setting, Forest and Local weather Change. The withdrawn proposal, initially submitted in Could 2024, sought to declare an expansive 3600 sq. km space — encompassing eight protected areas and almost 340 villages throughout 5 districts — as a single built-in ESZ.
“This proposal, if carried out, would have straight impacted round 5 lakh folks, together with Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, and economically weaker sections,” the letter acknowledged. It famous that a number of of the park’s additions had been nonetheless within the proposed stage, with boundaries unsettled for a long time, some since 1985.
The federal government expressed concern {that a} sweeping ESZ might hinder native improvement, jeopardise essential public infrastructure, and displace communities reliant on agriculture, tea estates, and rural livelihoods. Over 8000 hectares of tea cultivation land using greater than 25,000 employees fall throughout the affected space.
The Nationwide Setting Coverage (2006) defines Eco-Sensitive Zones as areas/zones with recognized environmental assets having incomparable values which require particular consideration for their conservation due to their panorama, wildlife, biodiversity, historic and pure values. To guard the surroundings and the organic integrity of the world outdoors the protected areas and different such areas the place an ecosystem has been adversely affected as a consequence of anthropogenic and climatic elements, the Ministry of Setting, Forest and Local weather Change has been declaring such areas as Eco-sensitive zones/ areas.
The idea of Eco Delicate Zone was conceived in the course of the XXI assembly of the Indian Board for Wildlife held on twenty first January, 2002, when the Wildlife Conservation Technique, 2002 was adopted. The purpose no.9 envisaged that “lands falling inside 10kms of the boundaries of nationwide parks and sanctuaries needs to be notified as eco-fragile zones below part 3(v) of the Setting (Safety) Act, 1986 and Rule 5, sub-rule (viii) and (x) of the surroundings (Protections) Guidelines”. The Nationwide Wildlife Motion Plan (NWAP) (2002-2016) indicated that ‘Areas outdoors the protected space community are sometimes very important ecological hall hyperlinks and have to be protected to forestall isolation of fragments of biodiversity, which won’t survive in the long term.
The Comptroller & Auditor Normal (CAG) of India, in its report “Efficiency Audit of Kaziranga Nationwide Park – Points and Challenges in 2015 had already identified on presence of brick kilns and crushers inside 10 km of the boundary of the nationwide park.
“Non-declaration of the ESZ for such an extended interval had a direct bearing on such actions detrimental to the well-being of the animals. The harmful development, if not checked instantly and completely, might result in irreversible
affect on conservation and safety of wildlife with the potential menace that in case of a significant flood, the vast majority of the internationally acclaimed species One one-horned Rhinos, can be worn out perpetually,” the audit company had identified.
“Implementing such an enormous, built-in ESZ with out resolving these basic boundary and community points would severely hinder improvement and create long-term socio-economic misery for already susceptible communities,” the letter from Assam Chief Secretary says within the letter.
As a substitute, the letter says the Assam authorities will now pursue separate ESZ proposals for every protected space and Kaziranga’s additions, tailor-made to their distinctive ecological and socio-economic contexts.
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