The Assam government on Monday decided to upgrade Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary into a national park. The announcement comes just months after the National Board of Wildlife’s (NBWL) conditional clearance to a coal mining project by Coal India Limited (CIL) in the Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve sparked a spate of virtual protests in the state. Subsequently, North Eastern Coalfields (NEC), the CIL subsidiary, temporarily suspended all mining operations in the region.
“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,” tweeted Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday afternoon.
