Assam to seek 1-km eco-sensitive zone for Kaziranga from Centre

Kaziranga National Park in Assam, India, is a protected home for many wild animals, including the one-horned rhinoceros.

Around the park there is a special safety zone where building and development are limited.

Because the park's final official papers have not been finished, a very large 10-kilometre safety zone is automatically in place.

Assam's chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, thinks that zone is too big.

He wants to make it only 1 kilometre wide.

He says the big zone stops the nearby town of Bokakhat from building useful things like a new stadium and better roads.

He says a smaller, science-based zone would still protect the animals while letting the town grow.

Some people who care about wildlife worry that smaller protections could hurt the animals.

Earlier, in June 2025, the government also cancelled a plan to add more land to the park, which upset many nature lovers.

Leaders say they want a balance between protecting nature and helping towns, but not everyone agrees on how to reach it.