Assam Congress to Hold Statewide March Against Proposed Kaziranga ESZ Reduction

The battle over the future of Kaziranga National Park's protective buffer is set to move from government offices to the streets, with the Assam Congress announcing a statewide padayatra on August 29 against a proposed reduction in the park's Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ).

The controversy centres on the Assam government's plan to approach the Centre for reducing the buffer around the UNESCO World Heritage Site from the default 10 km to between 1 km and 3 km. The proposal has triggered sharp opposition from political parties and environmental activists, who fear that shrinking the protected buffer could expose one of India's most ecologically significant landscapes to greater pressure from commercial and developmental activities.

In a circular, Assam Congress general secretary (organisation) Ramanna Baruah directed district committee presidents to organise the march, mobilise party workers and build public opinion against the proposed move. The Congress has argued that reducing the ESZ could pose a serious threat to wildlife, biodiversity and the fragile ecosystem surrounding Kaziranga.

Eco-Sensitive Zones act as transition areas around protected forests, where commercial activities may be prohibited, regulated or allowed under specific conditions, depending on their nature. Critics of the proposed reduction allege that a smaller buffer could facilitate mining and tourism activities in and around the forest and the neighbouring Karbi Anglong hills, an area that also serves as an important elephant corridor.

Environmentalists have warned that narrowing the ESZ could intensify human-animal conflict and weaken the ecological protection available to the park's rich biodiversity. The concern is not limited to the boundaries of Kaziranga itself but extends to the wider landscape that allows wildlife, particularly elephants, to move between habitats.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, however, has strongly defended the proposal. He maintains that the reduction is intended to protect villagers living within the existing ESZ and ensure that conservation rules do not adversely affect their livelihoods.

The dispute has therefore evolved into a wider debate over conservation versus livelihood concerns. As the Congress prepares to take its protest across Assam on August 29, the proposed ESZ reduction is likely to sharpen the political contest over how Kaziranga and its surrounding landscape should be protected while addressing the concerns of communities living nearby.