NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the Assam forest department regarding the diversion of 44 hectares of forest land for the construction of a Commando Battalion headquarters in Barak Valley. The action was taken without following the mandatory procedures outlined in the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980.
The affected area falls within the Inner Line Reserved Forest, which was established in 1877 and spans 110,000 hectares in Hailakandi district of Barak Valley. This forest is renowned for its rich biodiversity, housing endangered species such as the hoolock gibbon, slow loris, and clouded leopard. It also serves as a critical habitat for elephants, tigers, and various bird species.
A bench consisting of NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivatava, and expert member Dr A Senthil Vel has included several key officials in the notice, including the Inspector General of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) & Head of Forest Force (HoFF) of the Assam Forest Department, the Chief Wildlife Warden of the Assam Forest Department, and the Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate of District Hailakandi.
The NGT took up this matter suo motu, citing violations of established environmental norms. The next hearing is scheduled for February 15.
An environmental activist has accused the Assam government of unlawfully diverting forest land and filed a complaint with the MoEF&CC. The complaint alleges that high-ranking Assam government officials colluded in diverting 44 hectares of protected forest.
The complainant specifically pointed to the State’s PCCF and HoFF, MK Yadava, for bypassing the mandatory procedures stipulated by the Forest Conservation Act of 1980. It is alleged that Yadava “misinterpreted” the law and described the construction of the headquarters as “ancillary to forest conservation” to justify the diversion.
However, the MoEF&CC had clearly defined what constitutes “ancillary to forest conservation work,” including the establishment of checkposts, fire lines, wireless communication infrastructure, construction of fencing, bridges, culverts, dams, waterholes, trench marks, boundary marks, pipelines, and other similar activities.
This case bears similarities to a previous incident in 2019, when the NGT ruled against the Haryana government for establishing a police training center on forest land. The Delhi High Court had also reprimanded the forest department for constructing a train track in a protected forest, emphasizing that the forest department’s role is that of a custodian of the forest rather than an owner.