Guwahati, Feb. 9: Kaziranga National Park is formulating a proposal to declare a 10-km circumference area as an eco-sensitive zone to stop any kind of industrial activity.

This is being done as part of the ministry of environment and forests notification, 1998, and also decisions taken by the Indian Board of Wildlife for national parks to carve out the special zone.

?We have to submit a project to the Centre to earmark the area,? director of Kaziranga National Park, N.K. Vasu, said.

He said inputs would be required like land use before the project can be finalised. ?Once the zone is notified, many restrictions will come, such as ban on industrial activity.? He said cooperation would be required from the Karbi Anglong district administration to create the area.

Quarrying and mining activities are totally banned in eco-sensitive zones and as far as possible no fresh mining lease shall be granted.

The monitoring committee set up by the Assam government shall now have the authority to give special permission for mining lease or quarrying.

The government?s move to allow quarrying near the national park was greeted by howls of protests from national and international conservation agencies.

The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency had said the daily blasting within the Karbi Anglong-Kaziranga reserve is preventing elephants from moving through the area, leaving them stranded and hungry in the forests between Kaziranga National Park and new settlements near the Numaligarh refinery area, leading to clashes with the people.

A zonal development plan will have to be prepared earmarking the industrial estates.

Similarly, all other habitations in the eco-sensitive zone having a population of more than 5,000 should have area development plans as part of the zonal plan.

There shall also be no felling either in forest, government or cantonment areas, revenue, or private land within the eco-sensitive zone without prior permission of the state government.

Tourism activities in the eco-zone should adhere to a tourism development plan to be prepared by the department of tourism in consultation with the Centre and approved by the ministry of environment and forests. The tourism development plan will also form a component of the zonal development plan.

Sites of unique natural heritage in the zone will be identified, particularly rock formations, waterfalls, pools, gorges, groves, caves and plants for their conservation which will be later incorporated into the zonal development plan.

Strict guidelines will be drawn up by the state government to discourage construction at or near these sites.

Buildings of distinct historical or architectural importance will also be identified and plans for their conservation, particularly their exteriors, will be incorporated in the zonal development plan.