Gauhati High Court seeks status quo on encroachment in Manas Tiger Reserve
The Gauhati High Court has ordered a status quo on land encroachment within the Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve. The directive follows a PIL filed by an environmental activist regarding unauthorized cultivation and land use in the protected UNESCO World Heritage site.
Why it matters
This case highlights the ongoing tension between agricultural land use and the preservation of critical biodiversity hotspots in India.
The Gauhati High Court has directed the Assam government and the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) to ensure no further encroachment takes place in the 2,837 sq. km. Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve, which borders Bhutan.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury passed the order on July 31, 2026, seeking status quo until the next date of hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by eastern Assam-based environmental activist Rohit Choudhury.
In the PIL, the activist sought a writ of mandamus against the Assam government and the BTC to remove unauthorised encroachments from the transboundary Manas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He submitted that large-scale encroachments have taken place in the core area of Manas National Park, particularly in the Panbari and Betbari areas.
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