Adivasi farmers being evicted from Kaziranga, among Asia’s most militarised protected areas, for big hotels

When Adivasi farmer Lokhu Gowala reached his farm in Inlay Pathar near Kohora on the fringes of the world-famous Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) on June 7 morning, he found his house had been torn down.

Gowala, who suffers from a speech disability, is one of the 60-odd farmers deemed ‘illegal encroachers’ by the Assam Government. The authorities want to construct a five-star hotel in the area, to be owned by Hyatt Hotels and Resorts.

KNPTR in Assam’s Golaghat district, the home of the one-horned rhinoceros, has been witnessing protests against the construction of yet another luxury resort to be owned by the Tata Group under its hospitality brand, Taj. Locals opposing the project say that big hotels would not only displace cultivators but also hamper the movement of wildlife seeking refuge to higher ground during the flood season. 

On May 31, Gowala was summoned by the Circle Officer of Bokakhat sub-division to appear for a hearing. The notice stated that the land belonged to the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC).  

A picture of the house belonging to Lokhu Gowala before it was demolished on June 7 by the Golaghat district administration which claimed that Gowala and other cultivators were encroachers. Photo courtesy: Gaurav Gogoi 

Gowala was told that the Circle Officer was not available. On June 7, Gowala and several others from his village reached out to the Bokakhat Circle Office and submitted a memorandum opposing the land acquisition. Gowala claims that he was paying annual land patta revenue to the Golaghat district administration for more than a decade. “However, for the last two years, they stopped collecting the revenue. Much later towards the end of 2023, we got to know that a big hotel would be built on our land. I have six bighas (1.9 acres) of farmland where I grow paddy,” Gowala told Down To Earth (DTE) on June 8.

According to Minali Gowala, who has about seven bighas (2.3 acres), the Golaghat district administration stopped the collection of annual land revenue since 2022.

“Some years back, local administration officials came to survey our land saying they will open a piggery. We have been collectively farming over 30 acres in the area. We opposed it. Then a local Adivasi leader approached us saying that a cultural centre showcasing Adivasi communities living in the region will be built in the area. We also opposed that. Sometime towards the end of 2023, the district administration installed pillars over our land. Now, we are being told that this has been diverted to a big hotel,” Minali explained.

Higher ground

The land in question borders the Golaghat and Karbi Anglong districts of Assam. It is routinely used by wildlife such as elephants, tigers, leopards, deer and even rhino. “We have been farming, co-existing with the animals for generations. They also eat some of our paddy when they seek higher ground during the floods from KNPTR. However, if a big hotel with swimming pools is built here, where will we go? Where will these animals go?” asks Jogeshwar Gowala, who is likely to lose about three bighas (1 acre) of his farm to the hotel project.

Although Hyatt is yet to officially announce the construction the project, it signed an MoU on September 23 last year with the Assam Government for the construction of a five-star hotel in and around KNPTR.

A press communique issued by the Assam Government’s publicity department stated that with an investment of Rs 100 crore, Hyatt would build a luxury hotel with 120-odd rooms, swimming pools and large parking spaces near KNPTR over a 30-acre area.

The Assam Government is set to acquire over 30 acres for Hyatt Hotels next to the Kaziranga National Park even as Adivasi farmers claim ownership of the land. Photo courtesy: Gaurav Gogoi

The district administration, however, maintained that the land belongs to the government. “The notices were sent after the ATDC informed us that there was some construction on the land. We found that the construction was illegal as it is a government land. The land was turned into patta land two years back as it was handed over to ATDC in 2022,” the Circle Officer of Bokakhat, Champak Deka told DTE.

The proposed hotel project has angered local leaders. Pranab Doley, a local political activist representing several indigenous and Adivasi communities of the region, questioned the move. “It has become a trend for this government to displace people living next to KNPTR in the name of conservation and tourism and then hand over common lands to private parties. We also demand an immediate halt to the eviction of the 45-odd families who have been sustaining for generations on this land granted to Hyatt,” he told DTE.

Doley added: “The attack by bulldozers on Lokhu Gowala’s homestead is an attack on the people of Kaziranga, who not only cultivated for themselves but also maintain a harmonious relationship with wild elephants, allowing them to feed on their crops. We also question where and how the green clearances for Hyatt and many other such destructive projects are given since poor peasants are being evicted. Doesn’t Eco Sensitive Zone notification, No Development Zone on KNPTR, wildlife corridor laws of the land apply here?”

Hyatt is not the only five-star hotel chain looking to develop a hotel next to KNPTR. The Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS), a union of tea industry workers, shut down Hathikhuli Tea Estate owned by the Tatas for two hours on May 31, protesting the move to build the Taj Hotel.

“Within the tea garden, eight hectares of land has been marked to build the Taj Hotel. This will directly impact the livelihood of the tea workers. If there are no tea gardens, where will our workers go? What will they do? Moreover, this tea estate is close to KNPTR which is used by wildlife to move to higher ground during floods. This will totally hamper the movement of these animals, leading to a spike in human-animal conflict,” Kishan Karmakar, a local representative of ACMS told Down To Earth.

Curiously, the Supreme Court-appointed Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) made several damning observations in its visit in 2018. It provided details of more than 22 structures on the animal corridors connecting KNPTR with the Karbi Anglong landscape in the South, where animals seek refuge during floods.

The report identified a government guest house, a liquor shop, vehicle parking spots, resorts, residential buildings, several restaurants and cafes. Based on the report of CEC, the Supreme Court in April 2019 passed an order banning construction of any kind on private lands which form part of the corridors.

However, increasingly these corridors have been encroached by large private interests while local cultivators are being displaced for these projects.