Diphu : A proposal by the Assam state government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, to downsize the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) surrounding Kaziranga National Park has run into severe pushback from conservationists and local environmental bodies.

According to reports highlighted by English daily, the state government’s move aims to shrink the protective buffer zone to ease restrictions on local communities and development activities.

However, the proposal faces stern resistance following prior directives from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The NTCA has strongly advocated for an immediate halt to all mining and stone-crushing operations across the fragile Kaziranga–Karbi Anglong landscape.

Environmental experts and opposition leaders, including Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, argue that weakening the buffer zone risks reopening heavy industrial pollution, quarrying, and habitat degradation along Kaziranga’s critical southern boundary.

The southern contiguous hills in Karbi Anglong serve as essential high-ground refuge corridors for wildlife during seasonal floods making the enforcement of strict mining bans crucial to maintaining ecological balance in the tiger reserve.