Guwahati: A notice issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to four state and Union government departments seeking their response over the proposed construction of high-end hotel and a luxurious resorts at Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) has sparked a ray of hope among the park’s frontline grassroots activists.
In early August, the NGT had taken a suo motu cognisance of the issue after a news report titled Proposed luxury hotels in and around Kaziranga threaten wildlife conservation livelihood was published in Mongabay-India, an environment and conservation news portal, on July 31, 2024.
The NGT expressed serious concerns over the adverse impact that the construction will have on people and wildlife alike, citing the factors laid down in the report. On August 7, it impleaded the state’s principal chief conservator of forest (PCFF), the field director of KNPTR, the National Tiger Conservation Authority, and the ministry of environment forest and climate change (MoEFCC), and then issued notices to the four parties as respondents to file their respective responses a week before the next hearing on September 30.
The NGT has sought responses from the four respondents regarding the violation of laws such as the Environment Protection Act, 1986, Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and the Biodiversity Act, 2002.
On August 3 the Hemanta Biswa Sarma-led government had signed an agreement with the Tata Group subsidiaries Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited (APPL) and Indian Hotels Company (IHCL). The proposed site for the high-end resort is at Hathikuli just adjacent to the Kohora range in KNPTR.
Sarma had also signed an MoU with the Chicago-based Hyatt Hotel Corporation on September 23 last year. The site for the proposed Hyatt five-star hotel is at Inglay Pathar, also at Kaziranga.
Dismissing news reports highlighting concerns over these construction plans as “assumptions”, Sarma had earlier claimed that the construction sites for the and high-end hotels were “far from the national park”.
A banner in Hathikuli. Photo: Author provided
The Wire reached out to some activists involved in the fight against the proposed projects in the national park.
Pranab Doley, convener of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Committee (GKLHRC), said, “The NGT notice is a positive development for people like us who are striving to fight for the rights of local people. We are fighting so that the existing laws meant for the indigenous people, and for the precious wildlife in KNPTR are implemented correctly. The upcoming hotels will cast a dark shadow over the people and animals. The locals cannot be deemed as outsiders and evicted easily. The forest department is hand-in-glove with Sarma. The existing laws are meant to support the local community and to avoid wanton destruction of the environment. The construction plans should be viewed as an oppressive step both for the locals and endangered animals.”
GKLHRC is a grassroots organisation vying for greater rights for the local and indigenous people who have lived in Kaziranga for a long time.
Doley said that many people are silent over the issue and it should have taken the shape of a mass mobilisation of people in the state.
Last month, two close associates working with Doley were attacked by some villagers in Rongajan village at Kohora range in Kaziranga while they were collecting testimonies of 40-45 families who were evicted to make way for the hotel.
“I urge the NGT to approach the issue scientifically, emphasising an accumulative study on the carrying capacity of Kaziranga. There should also be a scientific and legal process on how tourism can be accommodated in a nuanced manner without evicting the locals. The lands on which the local populations work are theirs and evicting them from their own lands will [deny them] livelihoods. Many locals have been evicted before from KNPTR,” added Doley.
According to statistics provided by Doley, in 2016, during a brutal eviction drive, more than 400 households – mostly belonging to poor Muslim peasant villagers from Banderdubi and Deosurchang – were affected. Two persons were killed in the police firing during the eviction drive.
In 2020-21, villagers from Haldhibari and Panbari, housing mostly Adivasi and Karbi farmers, were evicted and more than 100 families from these areas were served notices.
Notices were also served to more than 400 households in Borbil-Mising gaon and Bhuyan Adivasi gaon in 2024
Sanjib Kumar Borkakoti, an expert member of the Indian chapter of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a UNESCO advisory body, and a commission member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) emphasised that the issue should have garnered large-scale support from the people.
In late July, ICOMOS, in a letter to the Assam government raised red flags over the proposed construction of a high-end hotel and resort at KNTPR.
“The problem with us is that we react to an adverse situation when it becomes too late to act. The issue of hotel construction at KNPTR should have garnered wider support from people but [they are] not that vocal. The notices [sent] to four parties is a positive development and has strong legal resonance. There is no use crying for Kaziranga once the hotels are built and we [have lost] the green cover and animals. What purpose the hotels will serve once the endangered animals are gone? It will be like a township in the middle of a national park. The entire plan will adversely affect animal behaviour and will escalate man-animal conflict,” said Borkakoti.
Activists fear that the man-animal conflict will worsen as these construction projects may block elephant corridors, particularly in Hatikhuli and Inglay Pothar. These areas, especially Hatikhuli, are regularly frequented by wildlife, with elephants using them as natural pathways. Hatikhuli is also considered as a playground for elephants.
Bubul Sarmah, a local activist from Kaziranga, while stressing on the importance of public concern about Kaziranga’s future prospects, said that a broader approach to address the issue affecting both indigenous people and wildlife will allow for stronger public support.
“The NGT notice is a welcome change. Tourism shouldn’t be focused on the rich solely. We as the public should be able to know who is gaining from the revenue generated by KNPTR. Revenue generation is a good thing. But what about compensation for the locals whose cattle stock is harmed by wild animals? Instead of focusing on big hotels, state authorities should uplift old tourist lodges in that area so more locals are employed,” said Sarmah.
Apurba Ballav Goswami, a local senior journalist and environmentalist said, “We are not against development. But development shouldn’t happen at the cost of wildlife and local indigenous people. The NGT notice is a welcome move.”
Soneswar Narah of Jeepal Krishak Sramik Sangha, another grassroots and civil society organisation said, “Conservation measures should consider the co-existence of people with the forest and the government should focus on framing better compensation measures for the losses incurred by the people. Jeepal is hopeful that NGT will stand with the people of Kaziranga and not bend towards the pressure of big capital and political authority. Fences and forces were not the way that Kaziranga has existed for centuries.”
The All-Assam Students’ Union (AASU) declined to comment on the matter.
