Guwahati: The Assam government has admitted to illegally clearing forest land within the Innerline Reserved Forest at Damchera in Hailakandi district to construct a police commando battalion.
In an affidavit submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last week, the Assam Police Housing Corporation Limited apologised for the violation and offered to demolish part of the facility to meet the requirements for prior environmental clearance.
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This admission came after the construction of the battalion, which involved diverting 11.5 hectares of forest land, proceeded without the necessary prior forest and environmental clearances.
The NGT’s scrutiny of this case occurs against the backdrop of a Supreme Court directive in February, which temporarily halted the practice of granting ex-post facto environmental clearances for projects with acknowledged environmental violations.
This Supreme Court order specifically stayed two Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) orders from 2021 and 2022, following a petition by the NGO Vanashakti.
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During the NGT hearing, led by Chairperson Prakash Shrivastava, the bench underscored the importance of obtaining environmental clearance before project commencement and raised concerns about post-facto approvals.
The case originated from a news report published in Northeast Now on December 25, 2023, alleging illegal forest clearing by then PCCF (now special chief secretary) MK Yadava, in contravention of Sections 3A and 3B of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, for the commando battalion.
The Union environment ministry took cognizance of the illegal forest diversion in Hailakandi in 2023, directing the Assam government to halt construction in March of this year.
Additionally, it was reported that former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), MK Yadava, who faced criticism for approving the diversion of approximately 44 hectares of forest for another commando battalion unit in 2023, had also approved at least one more similar project.
The Assam government stated in its submission that it had received final (Stage-II) post-facto forest clearance from the central government and had also received the Terms of Reference (ToR) for environmental clearance through the PARIVESH 2.0 portal.
The State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), Assam, citing a 2022 environment ministry order, had categorized part of the project as an ‘Educational institute,’ claiming exemption from prior environmental clearance for that portion, including additional non-residential buildings.
However, the NGT clarified that SEAC’s observations are recommendations, not final decisions, and the Assam government itself acknowledged that a police battalion is not an educational institution.
Following the Supreme Court’s February order on ex-post facto clearances, the Assam government proposed dismantling construction exceeding 20,000 square meters. Subsequently, the Union environment ministry issued an order aligning with the Supreme Court’s stay on such clearances.
The Assam Police Housing Corporation then formally undertook to dismantle all construction beyond the 20,000 sq m limit, for which environmental clearance is typically not required.
The NGT bench, however, emphasized that prior environmental clearance is necessary from the initial scoping stage if the project area exceeds 20,000 sq m.
“Violation is a violation even if they demolish,” the bench noted, suggesting that the original project plan would also need revision.
The NGT also questioned the Union environment ministry about enforcing the Environment Protection Act without prior approval and demanded details of actions taken against retired IFS officer MK Yadava for approving the illegal construction.
The Union ministry stated that Yadava’s response to a show-cause notice would be examined before any action is taken.
Under pressure from the bench, the Assam government ultimately admitted that the construction was a violation of the law and offered an unconditional apology.