Photo: Rohit Choudhury
In a landmark moment for environmental activism in India, on March 17, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. (NRL) began demolishing its 2.2-kilometer boundary wall in its township that had been restricting the movement of wild animals, particularly elephants, in Deopahar’s reserve forest in Golaghat district, Assam. NRL is a public sector oil company, and a joint venture with Bharat Petroleum, Oil India Ltd and the Government of Assam as the parties. The demolition of the wall reportedly started after the Gauhati High Court upheld the original decision of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The NGT in August 2016 had ordered the demolition of the wall, in response to the applications filed by conservationist and RTI activist Rohit Choudhury. Debadityo Sinha, Lead of Climate and Ecosystems at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy said, “The demolition of the NRL wall can be considered as a victory for wildlife conservation in the country.”
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