Why in news?
The Union Environment Ministry has proposed a uniform one-kilometre Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around Bherjan–Borajan–Padumoni Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam's Tinsukia district. Its draft notification, dated 29 October 2026, invites public objections and suggestions before the proposal is considered further. The sanctuary protects three separate forest patches with a combined area of 7.21 square kilometres. The proposed surrounding zone covers 32.01 square kilometres. Its purpose is to regulate activities around these habitats so that nearby development takes account of their ecological needs. The proposal includes land-use planning, controls on polluting activities and arrangements for local consultation and monitoring.
One sanctuary with three forest patches
The Assam government declared these forests a wildlife sanctuary on 13 October 1999. Bherjan covers 1.06 square kilometres, Borajan 1.76 and Padumoni 4.39. The patches are physically separate. Their combined legal protection supports the conservation of primates and other wildlife in this part of the Assam Valley.
Bherjan and Padumoni are reserve forests under the Dibrugarh forest division, while Borajan comes under the Digboi division. The sanctuary itself lies in Tinsukia district. Forest-administration divisions and civil districts describe different administrative arrangements, which explains the two sets of place names.
The habitat being protected
The draft describes remnants of tropical wet evergreen forest, seasonal swamp forest and semi-evergreen forest of Assam's alluvial plains. These habitats contain different vegetation and moisture conditions. Their combination contributes to the variety of wildlife recorded in the sanctuary.
The listed animals include hoolock gibbons, Assamese macaques, pig-tailed macaques and capped langurs. Other recorded mammals include leopard, wild pig and barking deer. Birds listed in the notification include the lesser adjutant stork, crested serpent eagle, hill myna and green magpie.
Protecting a small forest also requires attention to activities around its edge. Pollution, land conversion and intensive construction can affect the conditions within nearby habitat. The proposed ESZ addresses that surrounding landscape through rules for particular activities and a plan for the area's land use.
How the proposed zone would work
The draft identifies activities to be prohibited, regulated or promoted. It proposes restrictions on commercial mining, quarrying and stone-crushing units, with a limited exception for specified domestic needs of local residents. It also proposes controls on new polluting industries and expansion of existing polluting industries.
Other provisions address construction, tourism, waste disposal, water bodies and local infrastructure. The draft allows specified residential and civic needs to be considered under applicable approvals and safeguards. These provisions connect habitat protection with the activities of people living around the sanctuary.
An ESZ is established through an environmental notification that specifies its extent and controls. Here, the draft uses a uniform one-kilometre distance around the sanctuary's boundaries. Its annexures provide maps, boundary coordinates and the villages included in the proposed zone.
The Zonal Master Plan
The draft provides for Assam to prepare a Zonal Master Plan within two years of publication of the final notification. This is an area plan linking ecological requirements with land use and development. It is to be prepared in consultation with local people and relevant government departments.
The plan would identify existing settlements, forests, agricultural land and water bodies. It would also address restoration of degraded areas, catchments, groundwater, soil and moisture conservation. Mapping these features gives planners a common basis for deciding where different activities can take place.
Tourism planning would consider the area's carrying capacity: the level and type of visitor activity that its environment can support. The proposed monitoring committee would oversee compliance with the notification's provisions. Its membership brings together district administration, forest officials, technical departments and ecological expertise.
Public consultation and the next step
The draft provides a 60-day period for objections and suggestions, measured from the date Gazette copies are made available to the public. This allows affected people to respond to the proposed boundaries and provisions. The ministry will consider the draft after that consultation period.
Conclusion
The proposal connects the protection of three small forest patches with planning for the land around them. Its next substantive step is consideration of public responses before the environmental framework is finalised.