HC directs Assam Government
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has fixed a deadline for the Assam Government to submit the demarcation map of the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary. The High Court had multiple times asked the government to submit the demarcation map. However, the government could not submit the map. But now, the court has directed the government to submit the map by December 15, 2023.
In 2017, a massive eviction drive was carried out in and around the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary. More than 1,500 families were evicted and rendered homeless. Many namghars, houses and other buildings were demolished. There was a huge public outcry against the eviction. Some victim families then approached the Gauhati High Court for relief. They claimed that their villages were revenue villages and did not fall under forest area. So, the forest department cannot evict them.
The High Court asked the Assam Government to present a map showing the boundary limits of the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary for clarity on the issue. The court also said that if needed, the government could seek the help of the Survey of India in preparing the map. Accordingly, the government asked the Survey of India to demarcate the four boundaries of the wildlife sanctuary. The Survey of India prepared a demarcation map and submitted it to the Assam Government. However, the government has not accepted this map because there is a huge area difference between this map and the map of the State Forest Department which demarcates the boundaries of the wildlife sanctuary.
According to the Survey of India, more areas should be included within the wildlife sanctuary as these areas are under forest land. If this map is accepted, many government and other structures will have to be demolished and more families will have to be evicted. The government, which was not in favour of this, informed the court that it needed more time to come to a conclusion as regards the area or boundary that would cover the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary. The court gave the government some more time to come up with a final proposal for resolution of the issue. But as yet, the government has not been able to submit the map demarcating the boundaries of the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary. The High Court has now directed the government to submit the map explicitly defining the borders of the wildlife sanctuary by December 15, 2023.
Before 2004, there were three reserve forests on the eastern fringe of Guwahati - Amchang reserve forest, South Amchang forest reserve and Khanapara reserve forest. In 2004, the Assam Government declared these three reserve forests as Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary for better protection and conservation of the forest and wildlife resources. Sources said that many areas were excluded from the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary area because these areas were under revenue land. But based on old records, the Survey of India included all these revenue villages within the boundary of the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary. "As the government is against more eviction, it has not accepted the map prepared by the Survey of India," added sources.
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