Guwahati: The National Green Tribunal (NGT)’s principal bench has inquired the Assam Government and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on the Environmental Clearance (EC) for Assam Police commando camps built on Hailakandi forest land.
According to The Indian Express, the directive stems from the Environment Ministry’s finding last year that the construction activities were against the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, as the authority did not obtain any mandatory prior approvals from the Central government.
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Following the development, the NGT bench presided by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, along with Judicial Member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Expert Member A Senthil Vel, issued the directives in a suo moto proceeding on April 7.
In its order, the NGT stated, “Learned Counsel for the proposed intervenor has also raised an issue that the authority did not obtain any EC (environmental clearance) for the project. It will be open to respondents State of Assam and MoEF&CC to file a supplementary affidavit in this regard.”
During the hearing on Monday, Advocate Parul Gupta appearing for Assam-based intervenor Rohit Choudhury submitted to the bench that the construction in Hailakandi should attract provisions of the Environment Impact Notification (EIA), 2006, due to its large expanse. Under the EIA notification, buildings and constructions of 20,000 square kilometers and above need prior permission before starting work.
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In response to the submission, the NGT bench inquired about the Assam Government and Centre’s views on the matter.
Moreover, the bench expressed its concern to the Union Environment Ministry, seeking clarification on the actions taken to address the violation of forest conservation laws.
Earlier, the Environment Ministry’s regional office in Shillong had deemed M K Yadava guilty under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.
According to the office, Yadava, who currently serves as a Special Secretary (Forest) on the extension in the Assam Government, directed the use of forest land for non-forestry purposes without obtaining prior approvals from the Centre, making him liable for punishment.
Moreover, the environment ministry had initiated investigations into the construction of two police battalion camps in the Hailakandi and Sivasagar districts on the Geleky reserve forest.
The ministry carried out the probe for allegedly proceeding without the mandatory prior approvals under the Van Adhiniyam, the primary law governing forest conservation in the country.
Meanwhile, the NGT’s principal bench is addressing the violations related to the Hailakandi forest, the Tribunal’s eastern bench in Kolkata is currently hearing a petition concerning the diversion of the Geleky forest in the Sivasagar district.
The Shillong environment ministry’s office also had conducted site inspections and revealed contraventions of the Van Adhiniyam in both instances.
According to the Shillong office’s site inspection report for Hailakandi, the authority has constructed permanent structures, including residential buildings, a mess, a small hospital, a school, and a community center on 11.5 hectares of forest land.
However, the Union Environment Ministry regularized both police camps in February of this year. The ministry’s forest advisory committee granted ex-post facto clearances to the camps while also imposing certain penalties.