A green activist has reminded the Assam government of a 2014 proposal by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to notify a large hilly expanse south of the Kaziranga National Park as a tiger reserve.
The Assam government has within the last fortnight notified two national parks — Raimona in Kokrajhar district and Dihing-Patkai straddling Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts — to convey its commitment to conservation.
This commitment should be extended to central Assam’s Karbi Anglong district by declaring the hilly areas contiguous to the Kaziranga National Park as a tiger reserve, environment activist Rohit Choudhury said.
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The jungles on the hills of Karbi Anglong serve as shelters for animals that flee Kaziranga during floods every year. These are also home to many species, including the tiger and elephant.
In a letter to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is also the chairperson of the State Board of Wildlife on June 16, Mr. Choudhury pointed out that the NTCA had in 2014 proposed the notification of Karbi Anglong Wildlife Sanctuary and adjoining forest areas as a tiger reserve.
“The subject matter of declaring a tiger reserve in Karbi Anlong was also taken up in the 10th meeting of Assam’s State Board for Wildlife on February 22, 2018,” Mr. Choudhury wrote.
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According to the minutes of the meeting, the Chief Executive Member of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, also a member of the board, proposed the creation of a tiger reserve covering all the protected areas of the district. The creation of a wildlife division for the existing six protected areas of the autonomous council was also proposed in that meeting.
But the Assam Forest Department has not taken any concrete steps for notifying the Karbi Anglong Tiger Reserve despite the active consideration of the NTCA and State Board for Wildlife, the activist said.
“As a result, heavy deforestation in the adjoining areas of Kaziranga National Park is taking place and any further delay in the declaration of the tiger reserve will lead to the destruction of this important habitat beyond recovery,” the letter said.