GUWAHATI, Oct 4 � Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain today said that the State Government was trying to settle the land acquisition process for extending the area of Kaziranga National Park.
He said that once the legal process was completed for the six subsequent additions, the park area would gain a substantial extension from its present area of 430 sq km.
Hussain, who was addressing a gathering at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra as part of the 56th Wildlife Week celebrations, said that there had been no encroachment inside the 430 sq km area but that pre-existing settlements in the areas later proposed to be added to Kaziranga created misgivings about encroachment inside Kaziranga.
�Let me clarify that there is no encroachment inside Kaziranga�s notified protected area of 430 sq km, and we are trying to finalize the land acquisition process for the additional areas sought to be included in the national park,� Hussain said.
A total of 74 persons including forest staff and officials, NGO activists, and journalists were felicitated for their exemplary role in forest and wildlife preservation. Winners of drawing and quiz contests among school students on the occasion of the Wildlife Week were also awarded prizes.
