Assam CM requests post-facto clearance for commando battalion construction in protected forest

GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has urged the union environment ministry to reconsider halting the construction of a commando battalion unit within a protected forest area.

In fact, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote to union environment minister Bhupender Yadav, requesting post facto forest clearance for the construction of a commando battalion unit within a protected forest area, according to an HT report.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that stopping construction work “purportedly to protect a tiny area, when compared to the large-scale areas of forests experiencing unabated destruction, may not be a pragmatic approach and would defeat the forest conservation efforts of the state government as well as the ministry”.

“…drone photographic images have established that rampant construction of pitch roads, bridges, police battalion camps, offices, and settlement of encroacher villages from the Mizoram side is going on unabated in more than 3,000ha of reserve forests (RF). Taking advantage of the disputed interstate boundary, new encroachments have penetrated between 6km to 10km inside the ILRF (Inner Line RF). According to the Global Forest Watch Network, more than 2,000ha of forest has been cleared in the ILRF from 2018 to 2022. Further, more than 600 cubic metres of felled trees have been seized in the ILRF, which is a clear indication of large-scale felling. There are also reports that Rohingya are being settled by some inimical forces in the ILRF,” the Assam CM stated.

“In fact on July 26, 2021, when the government of Assam attempted to remove encroachments, there was unprovoked firing by miscreants from the Mizoram side using automatic weapons, which led to the death of six Assam police personnel along with serious injuries to the superintendent of police while the district magistrate and the divisional forest officer narrowly escaped with their lives... the issue has thus escalated from being that of forest conservation only to one involving national security concerns too...”

“In this backdrop, I request your kind intervention for according post facto approval of the ministry to the construction activities, and allow resumption of the construction of the commando camp in the RF, since the protection of that very forest does not otherwise seem possible,” he urged.

It may be mentioned here that the Assam government informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT), in April this year, that it has ceased the construction of a commando camp spanning 44 hectares within a protected forest area, following a warning from the union environment ministry.

According to an inspection report by the union ministry of environment, forest, and climate change, the construction of the camp was found to contravene the Forest (Conservation) Act.

Consequently, the union ministry directed the Assam government to suspend all work on the site.

National Green Tribunal (NGT) took suo motu cognizance of the case in January 2024 based on a news report titled, “Assam: PCCF MK Yadava accused of illegally clearing protected forest for Commando Battalion,” published in Northeast Now on December 25 last year.

Furthermore,  the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has directed the Deputy Director General of Forests (DDGF), MoEF&CC, Regional Office, Shillong to “initiate action” against Assam’s ex-PCCF MK Yadava for allowing forest land to use for non-forestry activities without prior approval of the Central government.

The environment ministry orders came after the investigation initiated by the ministry found that large-scale construction activities were underway inside the Inner Line Reserve Forest at Damchera in Assam’s Hailakandi district for an Assam police commando battalion.

Ex-PCCF Yadava, who filed an affidavit before the NGT in January, asserted that no illegal diversion of forest land had occurred.

He claimed the land at Damcherra would be used solely for setting up temporary tents to house a Commando Battalion safeguarding the Inner Line Reserve Forest.

However, a counter-affidavit subsequently filed by the MoEF&CC before the NGT exposed former PCCF MK Yadava’s attempt to mislead the court regarding diverting 44 hectares of protected forest land for non-forestry activities.

WI Yatbon, Deputy Inspector General of Forest (DIGF) at MoEF&CC’s Shillong Regional Office, submitted a counter-affidavit before NGT on March 28 stating the opposite.

Yatbon’s affidavit revealed a large-scale construction project underway, contradicting Yadava’s description of temporary tents.

The affidavit described permanent concrete structures spanning a massive 11.5 hectares, with a plinth area close to 30,000 square meters.

The affidavit further stated that the scale of the construction far exceeded activities permitted under the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980 for conservation purposes, such as building check posts or firing ranges.

The affidavit further raised serious environmental concerns. It reported that the 11.5-hectare construction site had been completely cleared of vegetation and levelled.

The affidavit mentioned that the area was previously used for rice fields and plantations, indicating a vital ecological area had been sacrificed for the project.

The remaining 32.5 hectares used for the project were described as moderately dense forest with teak and Gamari plantations.

This underscores the potential loss of valuable biodiversity due to the project.

Even more alarmingly, the affidavit reported that the Assam PCCF and HoFF had approved construction in September 2023, classifying it as ancillary to forest protection despite the clear evidence of a permanent large-scale construction project.

The affidavit also documented environmental damage caused by the project, including direct dumping of construction soil near a stream and the presence of a stone crushing unit, raising concerns about water pollution and habitat destruction.