KNP’s ESZ should be redrawn, it cannot be uniform but site-specific: IUCN expert

CORRESPONDENT

NAGAON: Dr Sanjib Barkakati, member and expert of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) maintained that irrespective of everything said on the subject, the ESZ around Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) should be redrawn very carefully, adding that it cannot be uniform, but site-specific.

"KNPTR is a World Heritage Site in Assam. It is included in Golaghat, Sonitpur, Biswanath and Nagaon districts of the state. The park is known for one-horned rhino. But the mismanagement of the park by the state government has jeopardised its future." Dr Sanjib Barkakati, Member and expert of IUCN( International Union for Conservation of Nature), ICOMOS and UNESCO spoke today in the website of these organisations. Dr Barkakati in his writings express that the Government of Assam has given permission for construction of two high end hotels in the Elephant corridors. One hotel will be inside the world heritage site, another in the buffer zone, both thus being illegal. There will be environmental pollution during their construction. Both during and after their completion, the light pollution will affect the wild life badly in KNPTR. A big resort has already been established at Kanchanjuri on an elephant corridor.

When the elephant corridors are thus affected, Elephant-Human conflict will increase as obstructed elephants will attack villagers. Tourist footfall is already very high in the park. Their arrival will increase even further, making the park unsustainable in the long run. Hotels will convert the place to mini-township. Tribal farmers have been forcefully evicted from locations like Ingley Pathar in order to facilitate setting up of hotels, which is a matter of great concern. A protester has also been arrested under National Security Act (NSA), leading to great resentment and exposing misuse of the NSA.

The Government of Assam has proposed a blanket reduction of the eco sensitive zone (ESZ) of KNPTR from the present 10 km to 1 km to get around the issue. But that will accentuate the hazards further as illegal mining, which are already going on in the nearby hills, will increase greatly. In fact, the ESZ need not be of uniform breadth everywhere, but subject to variation depending on the location. For example, on the northern side, the north bank of Brahmaputra may be the border of ESZ as towns like Tezpur, Biswanath etc begin there just from the river bank. Halem and Bihali are also inside ESZ at present. So ESZ on this side may be around 5 km on average, depending on the river.

In case of the south bank towns like Kaliabor, Jakhalabandha and Bokakhat, the ESZ may be around 3 km, as these towns are located very near the park. However, on the southern border of Kaziranga, the present 10 km limit needs to be maintained strictly, as the wildlife take shelter in this region during floods. Moreover, there are deposits of Granite, Kaolin, Platinum, Vanadium, Titanium etc in these hills, which will certainly be mined, endangering Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve completely, if ESZ limit is reduced to 1 km on this side. In fact, illegal quarrying is going on even at present. Even the Central Empowered Committee constituted by the Supreme Court of India observed that Government of Assam did not restrain the mining activities in the vicinity of KNPTR. These hills are the catchment areas of streams feeding eco-system of KNPTR.

I have raised some of these issues earlier too on IUCN platform. It is my sincere appeal to all environmentalists to help save Kaziranga. Any environmental disaster in future may necessitate demolition of the proposed hotels even if these are built, as UNESCO ordered demolition in the Vienna case. It is therefore better to take prior action.

A map with proposed ESZ of 1-3 km has been attached. It shows how even some vantage locations of Kaziranga like Kohora, Bagori, Burapahar, Haldibari etc will go outside the ESZ if the government proposal is affected. Let alone cover the river Brahmaputra entirely, even some portion of the river bank on Southern side will go outside ESZ in the new plan. A map of KNPTR with the present ESZ has also been attached. All said, the ESZ should be redrawn very carefully. It cannot be uniform, but site-specific.

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