Doomdooma: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has proposed a uniform one-kilometre Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around the Bherjan-Borajan-Padumoni Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam’s Tinsukia district. The proposed zone will cover a total area of 32.01 square kilometres.
The proposal is part of a draft notification issued on November 4, 2026, under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. It aims to regulate development activities around the sanctuary’s three separate forest patches and protect their biodiversity and ecological balance.
The Bherjan-Borajan-Padumoni Wildlife Sanctuary is located near Tinsukia town. It consists of three separate forest patches surrounded by tea gardens and human settlements.
Bherjan is about 3 km from Tinsukia town, Borajan is 6 km away, and Padumoni is 5 km from the district headquarters.
The three forest patches together cover 7.21 square kilometres. They were declared a wildlife sanctuary on October 13, 1999.
The sanctuary provides habitat for several primate species, including the western hoolock gibbon, slow loris, Assamese macaque, pig-tailed macaque, capped langur, stump-tailed macaque and rhesus macaque. Its tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests also support various bird and other wildlife species.
Under the proposed rules, new commercial construction within the one-kilometre ESZ would be prohibited.
However, local residents would be allowed to undertake residential construction subject to applicable regulations. Certain traditional livelihood activities and non-polluting industries may also be permitted under specified conditions.
The draft notification also proposes the preparation of a Zonal Master Plan within two years of the final notification.
The plan would include conservation measures, sustainable development guidelines and provisions to address local livelihood concerns.
A Monitoring Committee headed by the Tinsukia District Commissioner would oversee its implementation.
The notification is currently in draft form and has been opened for public comments and scrutiny before it is finalised.