Freeing Kaziranga from Encroachers

The BJP-led government in Assam, which had won the hearts of voters in Assam in 2016 with the promise of protecting the ‘Jaati, Maati and Bheti’ of the indigenous communities, and had also assured freeing the Kaziranga National Park from encroachers, appears to have lost its way. With less than 16 months at hand to face the electorate again, the government has literally closed the chapter of making Kaziranga encroacher-free. About the other four National Parks of the State – Orang, Manas, Nameri and Dibru-Saikhowa – the less said the better.

Hundreds of encroacher families have been sitting pretty in the second, third and fourth additions of Kaziranga National Park, by now believing that this government has probably forgotten its election promise. The eviction drive carried out in Kaziranga within a few months of its coming to power has also allegedly become a forgotten chapter. As has been reported on the front page of this newspaper on Monday, there are at least 660 families encroaching upon different additions of Kaziranga National Park, and this figure is in addition to more than 220 patta-holder families whose patta land had fallen under the expanded territory of it. What is most disgusting is that while the Kaziranga expansion had taken place several years ago, the Forest department had at that time recommended to the government to provide a compensation package to those families who have patta land inside the additions, a proposal that is either gathering dust or have been lost in the heaps of files that have been piling up in Dispur. Going by reports, the encroachers have been only emboldened due to the alleged lackadaisical attitude of the government.

Meanwhile, there are reports that fresh encroachments are going on inside the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, while the government – and the Forest department in particular – has chosen to look the other side even as the several hundred families are already sitting pretty inside this wonderful Park for several years now. Going by official figures placed in the State Assembly, over 16.30 square km area of Manas National Park and around five square km area of Nameri National Park are currently under encroachment. What appears is that while the government – and the Forest department – lacks in will to free the National Parks, Reserved Forests and Wildlife Sanctuaries of several thousand encroachers, the level of encroachment has also increased in various other government land, including the PGRs and VGRs, as also on land belonging to the Railways and various other State and Central government organisations.

There is a general feeling among the people that a section of politicians belonging to the main ruling party and its allies are also not in favour of evicting the encroachers from the various National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries and Reserved Forests. This is evident from the fact that no leader of the Asom Gana Parishad or the BPF – the two allies of the ruling BJP-led alliance -- has been able to boldly raise their voices against encroachers in the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary that is almost part of Guwahati city. The same unfortunately also applies to the Opposition parties, be it the Congress or the AIUDF. Above all, influential student bodies like the All Assam Students’ Union and All Bodo Students’ Union, or for that matter the Asom Jatiyabadi Yuva-Chatra Parishad, have also tactfully refrained from demanding eviction of the encroachers. About the self-styled intellectuals of the State, the less said the better. Given the above scenario, and given the fact that the forest cover of Assam is fast depleting , one can only surmise that all is not good in store for the future generation. The increasing death of wild elephants across the State is just one indicator.