Guwahati: The Assam Forest department has floated a Rs 8-lakh tender to fell, log and transport 407 standing trees at the proposed Adani Power plant site in Dhubri, raising fresh questions over the environmental cost of large-scale industrial development.

As Assam pushes ahead with a proposed 3,200 MW thermal power plant by Adani Power Limited in Chapar in Dhubri district, 407 standing trees have been earmarked for felling to clear the project site, according to an official tender floated by the Dhubri Forest Division.

The move has renewed concerns over the environmental consequences of the project, with questions emerging over the loss of mature trees, the impact on local biodiversity and the safeguards in place to offset the damage.

The tender, issued by the Office of the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Dhubri Forest Division, invites bids for felling, logging, transportation and unloading of the 407 trees. The estimated cost of the work stands at Rs 8,00,300.90.

The deadline for submitting bids at the DFO’s office is October 28. The tender process is being conducted under the Assam Public Procurement Act, 2017, and the Assam Public Procurement Rules, 2021.

While the tender sets out the scale and estimated cost of the tree-clearing operation, questions remain over the environmental implications of removing 407 mature trees and the measures planned to compensate for their loss.

Industrial expansion versus environmental protection

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma laid the foundation stone for the proposed 3,200 MW Adani Power project at Chapar on September 20, highlighting its potential to accelerate industrial development in Lower Assam.

However, the proposed power plant has brought the environmental consequences of large-scale infrastructure development into sharper focus. The tree-felling tender adds a concrete dimension to the debate over how much ecological loss will accompany the project.

Environmental activists and civil society groups have raised concerns over whether a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was undertaken before the proposed clearance of the site, as well as the likely impact on local biodiversity.

Questions also remain over the species and age of the trees marked for felling, the extent of the green cover that will be lost and whether compensatory afforestation is planned. The tender document, as described in the available details, does not establish how these environmental concerns will be addressed.

Dighalipukhuri episode casts a long shadow

The proposed tree clearance has also revived memories of the public outcry over the felling of heritage trees near Guwahati’s Dighalipukhuri for the construction of the Maharaja Prithu flyover.

The move triggered protests by citizens and cultural figures, including the late singer Zubeen Garg, who opposed the destruction of the area’s established green cover.

Several trees were subsequently translocated to Lachit Ghat on the Brahmaputra riverfront. However, most failed to survive, intensifying concerns over the practical limitations of tree transplantation as a mitigation measure.

The episode remains a cautionary example in the debate over whether tree transplantation and compensatory plantation can adequately make up for the loss of mature trees.

What happens to the 407 trees?

The proposed felling raises questions that go beyond the estimated Rs 8 lakh cost of the timber extraction work.

Will the environmental impact of clearing the trees be made public? Which species are being removed, and what ecological value do they hold? What compensatory afforestation targets, if any, have been prescribed, and how will the survival of newly planted trees be monitored?

The available tender details do not answer these questions. Clarification from the Forest Department and the project authorities would help establish the environmental safeguards governing the clearance operation.

The proposed power plant is being projected as an industrial development initiative for Lower Assam. But the immediate task of clearing 407 standing trees puts the project’s environmental footprint under scrutiny before the facility becomes operational.

For conservationists, the central concern is not simply the number of trees being removed, but whether the ecological loss has been properly assessed and whether the promised safeguards, if any, will deliver measurable results.