Notice of NGT to Assam over the appropriation of forest land
A notice about the diversion of 44 hectares of forest land for the building of a Commando Battalion headquarters in Barak Valley has been issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to the Assam forest department. The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980’s statutory processes were not followed in taking this action.
The impacted region is part of the 110,000-hectare Inner Line Reserved Forest in the Barak Valley’s Hailakandi district. It was created in 1877. Known for its abundant biodiversity, this forest is home to threatened species including the clouded leopard, hoolock gibbon, and slow loris. It is also an important habitat for tigers, elephants, and a variety of bird species.
Several important officials have been included in the notice by a bench made up of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivatava and expert member Dr A Senthil Vel. These officials include the Inspector General of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), the Chief Wildlife Warden of the Assam Forest Department, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) & Head of Forest Force (HoFF) of the Assam Forest Department, and the Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate of District Hailakandi.
The NGT took up the case on its own initiative, noting transgressions of accepted environmental standards. The date of the next hearing is February 15.
An environmental activist has filed a complaint with the MoEF&CC, accusing the Assam government of illegally transferring forest land. High-ranking Assam government officials are accused in the lawsuit of conspiring to divert 44 hectares of protected forest.
The State’s PCCF and HoFF, MK Yadava, were explicitly mentioned by the complaint as having circumvented the required processes outlined in the Forest Conservation Act of 1980. It is claimed that in order to legitimize the diversion, Yadava “misinterpreted” the legislation and claimed that the headquarters’ construction was “ancillary to forest conservation.”
The creation of checkpoints, fire lines, wireless communication infrastructure, fencing, bridges, culverts, dams, waterholes, trench marks, boundary marks, pipelines, and other related tasks are all considered to be “ancillary to forest conservation work,” according to the MoEF&CC’s clear definition.
The NGT’s 2019 decision against the Haryana government for building a police training facility on forest territory is comparable to this case. The Delhi High Court censured the forest department for building a rail track inside a protected forest, highlighting the government’s duty as a guardian rather than an owner of the forest.
