The government of Assam approves the addition of 3,053 hectares in two districts

The government of Assam has approved the addition of 30.53 square kilometers to the 884 square kilometers of Kaziranga National Park. The additional areas straddling two districts, Nagaon and Sonitpur, would bring the larger Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) to 1,085.53 square kilometers. However, wildlife habitat still awaits possession of 14.62 square kilometers previously “added” in two other districts. The core area of ​​the KNPTR is 430 square kilometers. A spokesperson for the Forestry Department said the preliminary notifications were for the seventh, eighth and ninth additions on Thursday.

“The additions include areas vacated by invasion and suitable wildlife habitat on river islands (sandbanks) which are vulnerable to invasion. This is a movement to consolidate wildlife areas in anticipation of better conservation of wildlife and reduction of negative interactions between humans and wildlife in the future, ”

said the director of KNPTR, P. Sivakumar.

He added that the three additions are habitat corridors and would help provide connectivity to Orang and Nameri National Parks across the Brahmaputra River from KNPTR in addition to the Karbi Anglong Hills in the south of the park, where rhinos, tigers, deer and others animals roam during floods.

• The seventh and eight additions totaling 4.83 square kilometers are in Nagaon District, while the ninth, covering 25.70 square kilometers, is in Sonitpur District.
• Wildlife activists appreciated the official stamp on the KNPTR expansion, but noted that rhino habitat has yet to be returned to possession of 1,461.59 hectares (14.62 square kilometers) of land Comprising the second, third, fifth and sixth additions in the districts of Golaghat and Biswanath.
• On August 17, the High Court in Gauhati ordered the Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and the Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam, to report on the steps taken for the eviction of invaders in areas previously added to the park.
• The court ordered on October 9, 2015 the eviction of the usurpers in the second, third, fifth and sixth additions to the KNPTR, while observing that the state government had handed over a total of 39,836.74 hectares covering the additions. first and fourth.
• Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, the KNPTR has approximately 2,413 rhinos and 121 tigers.

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