Centre Proposes One-Kilometre Buffer Zone for Tinsukia Wildlife Sanctuary

Guwahati: Federal authorities want a one-kilometre buffer zone around the Bherjan-Borajan-Padumoni Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued a draft notification on November 4, 2026. This move hits the Tinsukia district to protect 32.01 square kilometres of land under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

The sanctuary sits near Tinsukia town as three distinct forest patches. Bherjan lies 3 km away, Padumoni sits 5 km out, and Borajan is 6 km from the headquarters. These areas total 7.21 square kilometres and earned wildlife sanctuary status on October 13, 1999. The site hosts many primates, including the western hoolock gibbon, slow loris, and several macaque species.

Rules will change. Commercial building projects will stop inside the one-kilometre zone. Locals can still build homes under existing regulations. The draft allows specific non-polluting industries and traditional work. Officials intend to finish a Zonal Master Plan within two years of the final order. The Tinsukia District Commissioner will lead a committee to enforce these protections. The ministry states the proposal "aims to regulate development activities around the sanctuary's three separate forest patches and protect their biodiversity and ecological balance."

Public feedback is open. The government will review all comments before making the rules official.