‘Scrap ESZ’ then, ‘save ESZ’ now: Assam minister Pijush Hazarika questions Kaziranga critics

Assam Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Pijush Hazarika has accused critics of the state government's proposed 1-3 km Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around Kaziranga National Park of political inconsistency, citing protests in 2015 that had called for the zone to be scrapped altogether.

In a post on X on August 19, Hazarika said the government was proposing a "scientifically assessed, site-specific ESZ of around 1-3 km" instead of applying a blanket 10-km zone.

He referred to the protests that followed the initiation of the process for preparing the ESZ proposal in April 2015, when the Congress was in power in Assam.

According to Hazarika, the process began on April 6, 2015, followed by public hearings. On May 31, the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) led a protest over the proposed ESZ and the eviction of local residents. The protesters demanded protection from eviction and land rights for local communities.

He said hundreds of protesters later blocked a national highway on June 18 during a public hearing on the ESZ proposal. "Among their demands was the withdrawal of the Eco-Sensitive Zone from Kaziranga," Hazarika said.

He also cited protests through June 2015 involving organisations including the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), KMSS and other local groups, which he said opposed the draft ESZ and demanded that it be scrapped.

Hazarika specifically referred to Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi, who was then the president of KMSS, saying he had participated in the protests seeking withdrawal of the proposal.

"The message from the agitation was unmistakable: They were not demanding a smaller ESZ. They were demanding the ESZ proposal itself be withdrawn," Hazarika said.

He alleged that the position of some of the groups and political leaders had changed after the BJP came to power.

"The Assam Government is now proposing a scientifically assessed, site-specific ESZ of around 1-3 km, instead of mechanically applying a blanket 10-km zone. And suddenly, the same political ecosystem is outraged," he said.

Questioning the reason for the alleged change in position, Hazarika said, "Kaziranga? No. The need for conservation? No. The political convenience? Absolutely."

He argued that the debate should not be separated from the positions taken by political groups during the 2015 protests.

"If the ESZ was unacceptable when the BJP was not in power, but becomes sacred when the BJP Government proposes a scientifically determined 1-3 km zone, then this was never really about environmental principles. It was about politics," he said.

Hazarika, however, maintained that Kaziranga's ecosystem should remain protected.

"Kaziranga must be protected. Its forests, wildlife corridors and biodiversity deserve the strongest possible scientific and legal protection," he said, while arguing that conservation should not be used to "rewrite history".

The controversy centres on the proposed rationalisation of Kaziranga's default 10-km ESZ, which the state government says extends beyond the national park's legal boundary.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said the area of Kaziranga National Park itself will not be altered. He said the 10-km ESZ falls outside the park boundary and that the proposed changes were based on demands from local communities seeking to protect their livelihoods.

"The 10-km zone lies outside the Park boundary," Sarma said, adding that the ESZ is measured from the outer boundary of the national park. He also argued that a blanket 10-km zone could restrict development in areas inhabited by indigenous communities.