JORHAT: The Sonitpur district administration took a major step on Thursday to protect the biodiversity and ecology of
Tezpur by ordering a ban on illegal constructions in the historic town to the north of the state. Penal provisions under the Disaster Management Act 2005 have also been imposed in case of violations of the order to ban illegal constructions.
Sonitpur district magistrate Manoj Kumar Deka in an order passed on Thursday said the natural beauty of the historic Tezpur town has been decreasing due to rapid damage of the natural beauty of the area by illegal construction work in some low-lying areas and wetlands of the town. The district administration is very concerned with the matter and has imposed a ban on such illegal construction to protect the ancient natural glory of the town, an official from the magistrate's office said.
The order given on Thursday said, "No person shall carry out any construction work on the wetlands and other low lying areas in Tezpur town without prior permission from the concerned authorities. All such construction work that may cause damage to the natural beauty, biodiversity and ecology have been barred under section 26 (2), 30 (2) and 34 of Disaster Management Act 2005 with immediate effect and it will be continued until further order," said the order.
The order also stated that the authorities who are empowered to issue permission for construction work in areas under the jurisdiction of the
Tezpur Municipal Board and the
Tezpur Town Development Authority have also been cautioned to stop issuing such permissions with immediate effect. The order also said violation of this order shall be dealt with under sections 51 to 58 of the Disaster Management Act 2005.
Tezpur is a historic town in northern
Assam's Sonitpur district. It is situated on the bank of river
Brahmaputra. It is known as the most clean city of the state for its greenery.
However, Tezpur is gradually witnessing waterlogging problems due to the severe damage that has been done to natural water bodies by illegal constructions. Natural wetlands situated at some areas like Mission Chariali, Ketekibari, Murhateteli, Kacharigaon, Hatipilkhana and SC Road have been reportedly occupied illegally.
These areas, which were once the lifeline of the historic town, are now occupied by residential buildings, business establishments and medical nursing homes. The district administration has taken up some eviction drives on such illegal occupations from time to time but the damage to biodiversity and ecology is more harmful than ever.
