Why in the news: In the 57th Meeting of the Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) held on April 17, 2020 through video-conferencing, recommended coal mining in the Saleki proposed reserve forest land in Assam. The NBWL is under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The NBWL had in July 2019 formed a committee comprising its member R. Sukumar, Assam’s Chief Wildlife Warden and a representative of the local wildlife division for assessing the mining area. Out of 98.59 ha, R. Sukumar submitted to NBWL that 57.02 ha of forest land has already been used for mining by Coal India Limited and that in the balance 41.39 ha of unbroken area a cautious approach needs to be adopted owing to the rich biodiversity according to the minutes.
About Saleki: Saleki is a part of the Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve that includes the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary covering 111.19 sq km of rainforest and several reserve forests in Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.
About Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary
- The Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as the Jeypore Rainforest is a part of Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve .
- Dehing is the name of the river that flows through this forest and Patkai is the hill at the foot of which the sanctuary lies.
- It is located in the districts of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia.
- Dehing Patkai is a deciduous rainforest interspersed with semi-evergreen and lush green flora, the only patch of virgin rainforest in Assam.
- It comprises of Jeypore, Upper Dehing and Dirok.
- The Wildlife Sanctuary is endowed with rich bio-diversity. The dense forest with unique vegetation is mesmerizing.
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