Assam's wildlife sanctuaries and forests under massive encroachment; 1,150 killed in conflicts
Eight wildlife sanctuaries and 281 reserve forests in Assam are under encroachment, State Forest and Environment Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah informed the Assembly on Tuesday.
Presenting data on encroachment and human-elephant conflict, he said that as of February 12, 2016, 315,996.1251 hectares of land in these protected areas and reserve forests were under illegal occupation. The State government has since evicted squatters from 25,588.7675 hectares, including 16,937.2466 hectares in the last five years.
Sonai-Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary in Sonitpur district has the largest area under encroachment at 10,000 hectares, followed by Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary in Karbi Anglong district with 4,429 hectares. Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary in Nagaon district has the least encroachment at 11.7 hectares.
Replying to a question by Asom Gana Parishad MLA Diptimoyee Choudhury, Mr. Mallabaruah said 17,421.5 hectares across the eight wildlife sanctuaries and 296,717.935 hectares across the 281 reserve forests remain under encroachment. The Forest Department has so far re-greened 2,531.2 hectares of the land freed from encroachment.
The Minister also noted that Assam's forest cover increased by 208.55 sq. km, from 28,105 sq. km in 2017 to 28,313.55 sq. km in 2023, citing the India State of Forest Report. Assam's total forest cover now stands at 36.1% of its total geographical area of 78,438 sq. km.
On human-elephant conflict, the Minister admitted the situation remains grim. Since 2016, such conflicts have claimed 1,150 human lives. Between January and June 2026, 53 people were killed, more than half the 98 deaths recorded in 2016. The worst year was 2025, with 138 deaths.
Farmers in conflict zones have suffered consistent crop damage. They lost crops on 6,286 bighas in 2016 and 8,084 bighas in 2017, though losses decreased to 3,519 bighas in 2025. A bigha in Assam equals 0.33 acres. The number of houses damaged increased from 1,310 in 2016 to 1,759 in 2023, before dropping to 1,139 in 2025. A total of 246 elephants died due to electrocution, train hits, and poisoning during this period.
