Guwahati Aug 11: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to the Centre and the Assam government in connection with a suo motu case concerning the construction of 5-star hotels at Inglay Pothar, which is near the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The case was registered by the Principal Bench of the NGT following a media report that highlighted the potential threats posed by the construction of a 5-star hotel near Kaziranga National Park. The report raised concerns about the negative environmental impact, including the displacement of wildlife and the disruption of wild animal movement, particularly in the Inglay Pothar area, which has long been a sanctuary for elephants. This prompted the NGT to take suo motu cognizance of the matter, recognizing the potential risks to the region’s ecological balance.
The NGT registered the case for violations of the Environment Protection Act, 1986; the Biodiversity Act, 2002; and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
The NGT has issued notices to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Assam (PCCF & HoFF, Assam), Field Director, Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Ministry of Environment and Forest, Integrated Regional Office, Guwahati for filing their response before the appropriate bench of the Tribunal at least one week before the next date of hearing.
“Since the matter relates to the Eastern Zonal Bench, Kolkata, therefore, the original application is transferred to the Eastern Zonal Bench for appropriate further action. Let the original record of this OA be transferred to the Eastern Zonal Bench, Kolkata,” the Tribunal said.
The case will be heard by the NGT Eastern Zonal Bench in Kolkata on September 30.
The Assam government has approved the proposal for setting up two 5-star hotels –Tata Group and Chicago-based Hyatt Hotel Corporation in Hatikhuli and Inglay Pothar close to Kaziranga in a bid to promote tourism in the state.
Tata Group will set up the hotel at its own land at Hatikhuli Tea Estate, while Hayat Group will set up the hotel on government land at Inglay Pothar (behind Hatikhuli Tea Estate) measuring 30 bighas which is under the possession of Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC).
Hatikhuli Inglay Pothar is located near the Kohora range at Kaziranga which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It uis also alleged that while it is unclear what the final projects are going to be or who the developers are, land has already been barricaded and farmers have been displaced for it.
The project site – Inglay Pothar, a 19-acre farmland in the Kohora town of Golaghat district, is considered to be a traditional habitat of wild elephants.
The district administration has put up fences all around Inglay Pothar and also deployed 35-40 armed commandos to guard the area.
This area, apart from serving as an important passage for animals, has also been cultivated by indigenous farmers for generations. As Inle Pothar and the adjoining tea gardens lie on the foothills of Karbi Hills, animals use this area during floods, while scouting for natural highlands. Once this area gets blocked, they will enter villages, and this will aggravate human-animal conflict.
Furthermore, Inglay Pothar is also called the playground for elephants. It has over 400 elephants and the area has a history of peaceful coexistence between people and elephants.
Over 45 farmer families survive on the yield produced from the 19-acre land in Inle Pothar, of which 9.9 acres have been earmarked for the luxury hotels project. Even though the authorities have marked it as government land, it is alleged that the farmers have been paying revenue land taxes for more than a decade. Moreover,
In the Tata-owned Hathikuli tea estate, eight acres have reportedly been earmarked for the IHCL to build a 5-star resort. It is also alleged that around 1,500 people work in Rongajan and Hatikhuli tea gardens, whose livelihood will be affected by the hotels.
Currently, KNPTR has nine animal corridors delineated: Amguri, Bagori, Chirang, Deosur, Harmati, Hatidandi and Kanchanjuri in Nagaon district and Haldibari and Panbari in Golaghat district.
In 2022, the Supreme Court directed that every protected forest (national park or sanctuary) should have a one-kilometre Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ), where no infrastructure projects would be allowed.
KNPTR is among a handful of national parks in the country without a declared ESZ. Without a declared ESZ, a radius of 10 kilometres outside the park has been enforced by the Supreme Court since 2006.
“Therefore, in such a scenario, the proposed hotel project would fall under the purview of ESZ. There is already significant damage caused by resorts and other constructions adjoining the Kaziranga National Park, which have been termed unsustainable by government authorities and courts in the past. Setting up 5-star hotels in this ecologically sensitive landscape will also set a wrong precedent.
