"Gauhati High Court orders status quo on Manas Tiger Reserve encroachments"
Critical Tiger Habitat
inviolate core zone of a tiger reserve where no human activity is permitted under the WPA.
National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)
statutory body under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, overseeing all tiger reserves in India.
Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve, spread across 2,837 sq. km in Assam, is one of India's most ecologically significant protected areas. It is simultaneously a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger, a Biosphere Reserve, and an Elephant Reserve — a rare convergence of international and national conservation designations. The reserve shares a transboundary landscape with Bhutan's Royal Manas National Park, making its ecological integrity a matter of bilateral conservation significance.
The legal architecture governing India's protected areas rests primarily on the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WPA). The Act classifies protected areas into National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves, and Community Reserves. National Parks enjoy the highest level of protection — no human activity, including grazing or cultivation, is permitted within their boundaries without explicit authorisation. Project Tiger, launched in 1973, added a further layer of governance through the designation of Tiger Reserves, each comprising a core/critical tiger habitat (inviolate zone) and a buffer zone. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), established as a statutory body under the WPA through the 2006 amendment, oversees the management and monitoring of all tiger reserves in India.
Manas has a complex governance history. During the insurgency years of the 1980s and 1990s, the reserve suffered severe poaching and encroachment. Its recovery — including the reintroduction of species like the pygmy hog and hispid hare — is considered a conservation success story. However, encroachment pressures have persisted, complicated by the overlapping jurisdictions of the Assam state government and the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), an autonomous self-governing body created under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to administer the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD).
The core legal tension in encroachment cases within protected areas involves the interplay between the WPA's absolute prohibition on unauthorised occupation and the administrative realities of land use that predate or overlap with conservation designations. Section 34A of the WPA specifically addresses encroachment: it empowers an officer not below the rank of Assistant Conservator of Forests to evict any person unlawfully occupying a wildlife sanctuary or national park, and an officer not below the rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests to demolish unauthorised structures and confiscate associated materials — subject to providing the occupant an opportunity to be heard.
The core/critical tiger habitat is the most legally protected zone within a tiger reserve. Under the WPA, this area must be kept inviolate — free from all human activity — to ensure the tiger's undisturbed breeding and movement. …
Consider the following statements:
1.Animal Welfare Board of India is established under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
2.National Tiger Conservation Authority is a statutory body.
3.National Ganga River Basin Authority is chaired by the Prime Minister.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements :
1.The definition of "Critical Wildlife Habitat" is incorporated in the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
2.For the first time in India, Baigas have been given Habitat Rights.
3.Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change officially decides and declares Habitat Rights for Primitive and Vulnerable Tribal Groups in any part of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under 'Critical Tiger Habitat'?
Consider the following statements about Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve:
1.It is located in Assam and shares a transboundary landscape with Bhutan.
2.It is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
3.It is exclusively a Tiger Reserve and does not hold Biosphere Reserve status.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to Section 34A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, consider the following statements:
1.An officer not below the rank of Assistant Conservator of Forests may evict persons unlawfully occupying a national park.
2.Removal of unauthorised structures requires an officer not below the rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests.
3.The provision applies only to wildlife sanctuaries and not to national parks.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established as a statutory body under which of the following?
Assertion (A): Encroachment in the core/critical tiger habitat of a tiger reserve is prohibited even when carried out by a government department or autonomous council.
Reason (R): The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 mandates that the core/critical tiger habitat must be kept inviolate, and Section 34A empowers forest officers to remove encroachments regardless of who the encroacher is.
Which of the following is correct?
Which of the following correctly describes the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC)?
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