Green tribunal glare on Kaziranga construction

GUWAHATI: The National Green Tribunal has directed the state government to ensure that no construction activities are allowed around Kaziranga National Park, a World Heritage Site around 250 km from here.
The NGT, in its Tuesday order, has stated that even land patta holders cannot raise any construction in the eco-sensitive area or in the buffer zone.
The tribunal asserted that pattas give land rights primarily for agricultural purposes and nothing else.
In a case by activist Rohit Choudhury versus Union of India and others, the NGT has said the state government should file a status report within two days, along with a comprehensive map of the national park with boundaries and “offending” structures existing within a 5-km radius of the park’s boundaries.
The 2014 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Kaziranga National Park pointed out that in the Bokakhat circle, 29 resorts and dhabas have been running within 2 to 3km of the park’s boundaries for 40 years. A majority of the land belonged to agricultural category. The report also found that even government land in the Bokakhat circle has been used for resorts.
The CAG report also said, in the Kaliabor circle, 71 dhabas, resorts and other commercial establishments were running without “no-objection certificates” from the park authorities. The report further pointed out that of 71 units, 62 of them were running within one-kilometre radius and the remaining nine within 3-km radius of the park boundary.