Disappearance of Kaziranga Wildlife Corridor Raises Concerns
Critical Wildlife Corridor Missing from Official Records
A file image of Wild Asiatic Water Buffaloes in Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve (Photo: @SadaaShree/X)
GUWAHATI, Sept 5: Assam has long faced the challenge of decreasing forest cover, but a recent development has taken a strange turn: a vital wildlife corridor within Kaziranga National Park has seemingly disappeared from the official website of the State government’s Environment, Forest and Climate Change department.
The gazette notification titled “No. FRW.7/2022/Pt.V/01 - 9 (nine) animal corridors connecting Karbi Anglong Hills and Kaziranga National Park,” dated April 1, 2022, fails to mention the Panbari corridor, even though it lists nine corridors in its introduction before detailing the other eight. Notably, the notification does not specify the rule under which it was issued.
This omission, whether accidental or intentional, has sparked speculation regarding its connection to the recent discovery of rare earth element deposits in the Panbari-Geleki region, which is in close proximity to Kaziranga National Park.
“The exclusion of Panbari, one of the oldest corridors, is alarming. It’s hard not to associate this with the potential for RRE exploration near Kaziranga National Park. Even if it was an oversight, it reflects poorly on the authorities. Panbari is a crucial corridor,” remarked a conservationist who preferred to remain anonymous.
This incident further undermines the credibility of the authorities, who have been slow to officially recognize the nine identified elephant corridors of Kaziranga National Park, despite repeated requests from the Supreme Court-formed Central Empowerment Committee (CEC) over the years.
The Assam Government had established a committee to delineate these corridors through an order dated May 4, 2019, which submitted a comprehensive report on August 28, 2019. This report was published in the Gazette on April 1, 2022, but with the critical corridor missing.
Despite the CEC's persistent calls for the official notification of all nine corridors, the State government has responded with apparent indifference, as evidenced by its lack of response to subsequent communications from the CEC.
“The CEC, in a letter dated March 5, 2026, again urged the Government of Assam to provide updates on the notification of the animal corridors connecting Kaziranga National Park. However, no reply has been received from the State Government to date,” the CEC noted in its communication dated July 17, 2026, to environmental activist Rohit Choudhury, who had inquired about the issue.
Several forest officials expressed their astonishment regarding the omission of the Panbari corridor, labeling it as “unintentional.” However, this raises the question of why the error has not been corrected for such an extended period.
“It’s quite surprising…the Panbari corridor should definitely be included. I can’t say why or how it was left out, but it appears to be an oversight. Regardless, it needs to be rectified immediately,” stated a senior official.
Another official mentioned that the Forest department’s own website has yet to upload the document. “It’s available on the State government’s website, but our departmental site does not have this upload,” he added.
The nine recognized corridors include Panbari, Haldhibari, Bagori, Harmati, Kanchanjuri, Hatidandi, Deosur, Chirang, and Amguri.