GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court of India has asked the State Government of Assam to file an affidavit by March 11 stating how much time it would take to complete the demarcation of the boundary of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon, which was notified over 25 years ago.
An SC bench consisting of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Sandeep were hearing a petition filed by Rohit Choudhury, a wildlife activist from Assam, when it remarked, “It is really surprising that though the wildlife sanctuary located in Assam’s Morigaon district was notified in 1998, for a period of 25 years even the boundaries are not demarcated.”
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The apex court further asked the Assam government to treat the issue with urgency and said, “We hope that the state will consider the issue with the urgency that it requires. We may put the state on notice that the failure to do so would entail serious consequences.”
Last year on November 22, the SC had given the Assam Government a last chance to file the affidavit and granted it four weeks for the same, but the state had failed to do so.
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The Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across an area of 38.85 sq km and includes the Pobitora Reserved Forest, the Raja Mayang Hill Reserved Forest and the Khas Land.
The sanctuary supports the highest density of Indian rhinoceros in the country and boasts a total of 107 rhinos, as per the census conducted in 2022.
