Supreme Court stops Assam’s move to withdraw notification of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

Subject: Environment

Section: Protected Areas in news

Context:

The Supreme Court halted the Assam government’s attempt to withdraw a notification from March 17, 1998, that established the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary, a crucial habitat for one of the largest rhino populations in India.

Concerns Over Sanctuary Declaration:

The government highlighted that the sanctuary’s declaration overlooked the rights of villagers from marginalized communities in Thengabhanga, Murkata, and Mayong, who have lived in the area since before India’s independence.
Following the withdrawal of the 1998 notification, the government formed a committee to assess the rights and claims of forest dwellers and to reconsider the declaration of the Pobitora region as a wildlife sanctuary.
Justice B.R. Gavai emphasized that withdrawing a notification declaring a wildlife sanctuary requires approval from the National Board of Wildlife and noted previous orders against the dereservation of protected areas. The Court found the withdrawal “ex facie illegal.”
Assam’s counsel argued that the withdrawal aimed to correct a past error in land demarcation,not to dismantle the sanctuary.
The justices affirmed the government’s responsibility towards both the sanctuary and the rights of forest dwellers.

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary:

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the flood plains of River Brahmaputra in the district of Morigaon in the state of Assam.
It harbours the highest density of Rhino in the world and the second highest concentration of Rhino in Assam after Kaziranga National Park.
It is often called ‘Mini Kaziranga’ because of the similar landscape and the sizeable population of the one-horned rhino.
Fauna: Leopard, Leopard cat, Fishing cat, Jungle cat, Feral Buffalo, Wild pigs, Chinese pangolins, etc.
Flora: Its maximum consists of the wet savannah of Arundo donax and Saccharum. The remaining area is covered by water bodies.

Source: TH