Guwahati: The Assam Forest department’s online e-auction platform for minor minerals has come under scrutiny after allegations that it is hosted on a privately managed domain instead of the Government of India’s authorised infrastructure, raising concerns over cybersecurity, data sovereignty and compliance with official guidelines.
The website, assamforestonline.in, is used for conducting e-auctions related to minor minerals under the Assam Forest department. However, domain registration records indicate that the website is registered under the .in domain and is managed through GoDaddy, an American domain registrar and hosting service provider.
According to publicly available domain registration details, the domain was registered on July 21, 2018, is set to expire on July 21, 2026, and uses GoDaddy name servers.
Experts familiar with government IT policies said official government websites, particularly those handling sensitive public data and financial transactions, are generally expected to use authorised government domains such as gov.in, assam.gov.in or nic.in, while hosting is typically carried out through the National Informatics Centre (NIC), ERNET or other government-approved cloud infrastructure.
The allegations further claim that the e-auction platform is not hosted on NIC infrastructure and may not comply with the Government of India’s Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW) and CERT-In cybersecurity requirements. No independent verification of these claims could be made.
The website’s use as an e-auction platform means it processes data related to mineral auctions, bidders and transactions, making cybersecurity compliance particularly important.
According to the allegations, government departments in Assam seeking official gov.in, assam.gov.in or nic.in domains are required to apply through the Directorate of Information Technology and Electronic Communication (DITEC), which forwards approved requests to NIC for domain allocation.
The complaint also alleges irregularities in the management of tenders for minor minerals through the portal and names Assam Special Chief Secretary (Forest) M.K. Yadava in connection with the operation of the website.
These allegations have not been independently verified, and no official response from the Assam Forest department or Yadava was immediately available.
The Government of India’s Guidelines for Indian Government Websites prescribe technical, security and governance standards for official government portals, including the use of authorised domains and adherence to cybersecurity protocols.
Northeast Now has reached out to the Assam Forest department for its response. The story will be updated if an official clarification is received.