Guwahati: Assam Forest Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah on Thursday ordered immediate ecological restoration and tighter security measures in the Behali Reserve Forest after an inspection found extensive forest destruction along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
Mallabaruah visited the affected areas on the directions of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, accompanied by senior officials from the Forest Department, Assam Police and the civil administration, to assess the damage and review protection measures.
The visit followed reports of large-scale forest destruction allegedly carried out by miscreants operating across the inter-state border. According to the state government, satellite imagery and drone surveys comparing the forest cover over the past six months showed that nearly 400 hectares of reserve forest had been encroached upon and extensively damaged.
During the inspection, the minister reviewed the affected sites, examined drone footage and assessed the challenges faced by frontline forest personnel in protecting the reserve.
He directed the Ecological Task Force (ETF) to begin plantation and ecological restoration work immediately in coordination with the Forest Department to regenerate the degraded areas.
Mallabaruah also ordered the strengthening of forest protection infrastructure by upgrading existing forest camps, improving approach roads to vulnerable locations and constructing an additional access road to facilitate quicker deployment of personnel. He said poor connectivity had delayed intervention in some areas, allowing illegal activities to continue.
To strengthen surveillance, the minister directed the Assam Police and the Forest Battalion to maintain continuous vigil in vulnerable stretches and establish additional camps in areas where forest destruction has been reported.
Addressing forest personnel, Mallabaruah assured them of the government’s support and said they should carry out their duties without hesitation despite operational challenges.
On the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary issue, the minister said political and administrative mechanisms were already in place to address border disputes but maintained that forest destruction could not be justified under any circumstances. He also noted that the Gauhati High Court had made it clear that environmental damage could not be defended on the grounds of a boundary dispute.
The minister directed officials to initiate legal action wherever unlawful encroachment, trespass or destruction of forest land is detected within Assam’s jurisdiction.