NEW DELHI: A two-member bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a stay on the Assam government’s order to deploy over 1,600 Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) for election duty in the state. The NGT Eastern Zone bench, which includes Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and
Expert Member Ishwar Singh, issued notices to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the National Biodiversity Authority, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, and the Special Chief Secretary of Assam and stayed the order.
The tribunal’s concern was that deploying forest officers could compromise forest vigilance, especially given the rising incidents of poaching, and argued this was “bad in law”.
This newspaper has accessed a letter written by a group of former bureaucrats and environmentalists to the Assam government and the Chief Election Officer, opposing the deployment of these forest personnel.
They argue that this decision violates a clear directive from the Supreme Court and established administrative rules set by the EC. The letter criticises a March 19, 2026, order issued by M K Yadava, Special Chief Secretary of Assam’s Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Gaurav Kumar Bansal, an advocate at the NGT, stated that Section 36 of the Biological Diversity Act (BDA) of 2002 mandates the Centre to develop strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, including monitoring biodiversity-rich areas.
Section 36B places a similar obligation on state governments. Key ecological zones like forests, tiger reserves and protected areas, host significant biological resources that require monitoring and protection.
“By diverting crucial forest protection personnel for non-conservation purposes through this disputed order, the Assam government has failed to fulfill its duties under BDA,” he said.
He referenced a Supreme Court ruling from May 15, 2024, which directed that forest staff and vehicles should not be requisitioned for poll purposes or other activities.