Assam's Kaziranga National Park bags gold in SKOCH Award 2022

In a proud moment for the state of Assam, Kaziranga National Park bagged the SKOCH Award 2022 in the "Forest" category for "Expansion, Consolidation and Improvement of Wildlife Habitat".

It is to be mentioned here that Kaziranga National Park which is home to the endangered Indian one-horned rhinoceros has recorded a footfall of over 1 lakh and 36,000 domestic and foreign tourists in the 2023 tourist year.

According to park officials, over 3000 foreign tourists have visited the park. 
Jatindranath Sharma, the director of Kaziranga National Park informed this publication that the revenue collection in the last three months amounted to Rs 3 crore 41 lakh 3 thousand 500 rupees.

It may be recalled that the 2022-23 tourist year was started on October 2 last year after the official opening of Kaziranga National Park to tourists by Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma in the presence of Satguru. 

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Noting that the number of tourists has increased in October, November, and December in the last three months, Director Sharma said that in the previous 2021-22 tourist year, Rs 5 crore revenue was collected from tourists.

But keeping in view of the current rush of tourist arrivals every month, the director expressed hope to generate more than 7 crores in revenue in the 2022-23 tourist year. 

The Assam government has spent nearly Rs 1.7 crore on the census of various animals in Kaziranga National Park in the last six years. Environment and Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary informed the assembly on December 21, 2022. 

Among the animals enumerated between 2016 to 2022 were the park's flagship one-horned rhinoceros, Royal Bengal Tigers, elephants, and swamp deer, he said. 

Replying to a written question by BJP legislator Bidya Sing Engleng, Patowary said a total of Rs 1,69,86,700 was spent on census activities during this period. 

Of this, the highest expenditure of Rs 95.2 lakh was incurred in 2017, followed by Rs 34.78 lakh in 2022 and Rs 30.63 lakh in 2018.

Instituted in 2003, SKOCH Award salutes people, projects and institutions that go the extra mile to make India a better nation. SKOCH Award winners include the mighty and the ordinary alike. They receive this Award for their extraordinary achievements in contributing to society. The Roll of Honour of the SKOCH Award over the years is a testimony to this. Our awardees value SKOCH Award as the highest civilian honour in the country conferred by an independent organisation.