Panel raps Assam over illegal constructions in Kaziranga animal corridors

In April 2019, the apex court banned construction on private land in the corridors. Subsequent studies, however, have detected 22 structures built illegally, of which only one has been removed so far

The Assam government is not making sufficient efforts in protecting nine wildlife corridors in and around the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, a central empowered committee constituted by the Supreme Court has said.

On March 11, an elephant was electrocuted after touching a transformer on one of these corridors. (KNPTR)

In a meeting held on March 4 with Assam officials led by chief secretary Jishnu Barua, the committee directed the state government to speed up demolition of illegal structures in these corridors to safeguard the passage of wild animals. The details of the meeting were released on March 10.

On March 11, an elephant was electrocuted after touching a transformer on one of these corridors.

In April 2019, the apex court banned construction on private land in the corridors. Subsequent studies, however, have detected 22 structures built illegally, of which only one has been removed so far. The structures include a government guest house, a liquor store, six parking lots, five resorts, residential buildings, a function hall, two restaurants, a cafe and a hotel.

Although nine animal corridors have been identified, the state government was yet to draw their boundaries spread over a total length of 44.2km, a prerequisite for implementing the top court’s April 2019 order, the committee said.

The nine designated animal corridors, which are spread across Nagaon, Golaghat and Karbi Anglong East districts, fall along NH-37 that passes through KNPTR.

During annual flooding of KNPTR every monsoon, wild animals from the park cross the highway and move towards the hills located on the other side. It is during their attempts to cross the highway and move to safer ground through the corridors when several animals are hit by vehicles. In recent years, KNPTR authorities have enforced speed restrictions on the stretch of the highway that passes through KNPTR to ensure wild animals don’t get hit by vehicles.

“The long ranging animals traditionally follow the same route for movement from one landscape to another,” the expert panel said. “Therefore, blocking these routes and providing any other alternative corridors will not achieve the objectives.”

The state government should immediately relocate the existing eateries, parking lots and other structures, and acquire land on either side of the national highway close to the national park, the committee suggested.

The panel expressed surprise that instead of accepting a report on delineation of the corridors prepared by a committee constituted by Assam government in 2019, the state government reconstituted the committee and included two ministers, both of whom are elected from areas close to Kaziranga.

“The necessity for reconstituting the committee is not understood especially as the mandate of the (earlier) committee was not to identify the corridor, but to delineate the boundaries of the nine identified corridors referred in the April, 2019, SC order,” the committee observed.

During the meeting, chief secretary Barua agreed to provide the panel details of activities that have taken place in animal corridors in violation of the court’s order, along with photographs of the constructions. He also agreed to provide details of officers who granted permission to allow those constructions.

Barua further agreed to provide details of action taken to prevent construction in the corridors, officers responsible for enforcing the guidelines, copies of notifications to constitute the two committees on delineation, notices issued for demolition of illegal constructions and steps taken to develop parking lots and amenities for travellers away from the eco-sensitive zone of Kaziranga and outside the outer limits of the nine animal corridors.

In a submission before the committee on March 4, Barua admitted the state has been facing difficulties in enforcing the top court’s directions banning construction on private land inside the corridors due to protests by local residents as no resettlement package was offered to them.

The state government was mulling whether to acquire all private land in the corridors to make a “wildlife friendly and ecologically compliant elevated corridor” over a stretch of 34km at a cost of around ₹6,000 crore to “make restriction free passage for wild animals”.

“The observations of CEC have made it clear that Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam was protecting the illegal constructions on the animal corridor by giving the misleading report to CEC, until the Integrated Regional Office of MOEFCC submitted the factual status of the violation to CEC,” said environment activist Rohit Choudhury based on whose application the SC had issued the April, 2019 order.

“It has been almost 3 years after the order of Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 12.04.2019, Government of Assam was passing the buck to one department to another department putting the lives of the wildlife in danger. This shows the lack of seriousness of the government towards the protection of Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve, which is also an UNESCO World Heritage site,” he added.