Will Dehing Patkai's National Park status better its situation?

Assam govt has decided to upgrade Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary as a National Park. CM Sonowal said, “Our Govt has decided to upgrade the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam, which is home to a vast variety of flora and fauna, to a National Park. In a meeting with senior officials in Guwahati today, I have directed them to take necessary steps in this regard”.

Following the announcement, concerned citizens cherished the decision regarding the up-gradation. Singer Joi Barua who carried a campaign also posted regarding the issue. Even Adil Hussain also congratulated the decision.

Soon after the pleasantries, other issues started to rise regarding the concerns related to the area to be under the National Park.

Is it just rebranding?

Inside Northeast spoke to Mridupawan Phukan an environmentalist who has worked extensively in the Dehing Patkai areas. He raised the issue of the Jeypore reserve forest which is almost 85 sq km still outside the ambit of Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary. "Along with Jeypore, there are the upper Dehing areas which are still not part of the sanctuary. Will those areas will now be included in the National Park?". "Apart from the land inclusion, so far no infrastructure development has happened inside the wildlife sanctuary, how are they planning to start their work?". Phukan also raised several issues like that lack of staff which the "forest officers claim". "Instead of naming it now as National Park, they should have first solved the existing problems in the area like the lack of staff". He also said another fundamental problem has been of administration. "The sanctuary currently now is divided two Digboi, and Dibrugarh forest division. There is a lack of clarity regarding who runs what areas. The nearby reserve forest is also facing deforestation along with OIL operations license being given. Will these continue even after the National park status?" He further states that "these existing concerns must be looked after first, after that the issue of National Park is welcome, otherwise, it's just adding ice to fire".

Dehing Patkai controversy

Earlier, the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) gave the approval of a coal mining project to Coal India Limited (CIL) in the Saleki Proposed Reserve Forest (PRF), which is a part of the greater Dehing Patkai Rainforest. The NBWL is under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the meeting was chaired by Union Minister Prakash Javedekar.

Following the decision by NBWL, the environmentalists, civil societies, and student communities have vehemently opposed the move. Twitter campaigns have been run by various groups that have put commendable constraints. The media has also reported about the developments. The opposition mounted pressure on the govt to which Assam CM has directed the state Forest Minister to take stock of the situation.

Wildlife Sanctuary vs National Park: The difference

Wildlife sanctuary can be understood as the regions where wildlife and their habitat is protected from any disturbance. Conversely, a National park is the area of countryside, which is specifically designated for wildlife, where they can live freely and use natural resources.

Wildlife Sanctuaries are famous for the conservation of wildlife, which includes animals, insects, microorganisms, birds, etc. of different genes and species. On the other hand, National Parks are highly known preserving the flora, fauna, landscape and historical objects.

Wildlife Sanctuaries aims at ensuring that a substantial population of the wildlife and their habitats are maintained. As against, National Parks safeguards the environmental, scenic and cultural heritage of the region.

When it comes to restrictions, national parks are highly restricted areas, which are not open to all the people, whereas wildlife sanctuaries have lesser restrictions than national parks.

To visit national parks, official permission is to be taken from the requisite authorities. In contrast, no official permission is to be taken to visit a wildlife sanctuary.

Boundaries of wildlife sanctuaries are not sacrosanct. However, the national parks have clearly marked boundaries.

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