The arrest of Indian activist Pranab Doley has intensified scrutiny on a land dispute surrounding a proposed luxury hotel project near Kaziranga National Park. Officials state the five-star hotel, planned for 10 acres, is intended to boost investment, jobs, and tourism in the region. However, dozens of families claim the land designated for the development is ancestral territory they have cultivated for generations.
The district administration asserts that the land is government-owned. Deputy Commissioner Biswajit Phukan told the BBC that while some individuals may have been using parts of the project land, it was never officially allotted or registered in their names or their ancestors'. He added that the administration has provided financial assistance and land to eligible residents following verification, along with promises of job skills training.
Phukan declined to comment on Doley's detention, citing potential prejudice to ongoing investigations and judicial proceedings. He assured that the administration is highly sensitive to local concerns. Activists argue that this dispute is part of a broader, long-standing issue concerning land rights in the vicinity of Kaziranga National Park.
Doley, who grew up in a farming family near the park, has personal experience with the impact of environmental and governmental changes on land ownership. His village has been displaced multiple times due to floods and erosion from the Brahmaputra River, which frequently alters its course, making official land records outdated and leaving families with uncertain claims to cultivated land.
"My parents, even today, don't have land rights," Doley stated in a previous interview, highlighting the generational challenge of securing formal land tenure. He has also observed how park flooding forces animals like rhinos and elephants into populated areas, causing crop destruction and sometimes leading to conflict with local communities.
The development of the hotel project, promoted by Juniper, aims to bring economic benefits to the Kaziranga area. However, the conflict underscores the complex balance between infrastructure development and the rights of long-term inhabitants, particularly in areas adjacent to ecologically significant wildlife reserves.
