Guwahati: The Meghalaya High Court on Wednesday ordered the Chief Secretary of the state to form a committee advising the state on halting indiscriminate tree felling statewide.
Hearing a PIL, a bench of Chief Justice IP Mukerji and Justice W Diengdoh issued the directive, stressing the urgent need for a structured approach to protect Meghalaya’s forests and ecological balance in the state.
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The court directed the state respondents to submit a report by June 12th, detailing the committee’s deliberations and decisions.
The development came into action following a report submitted to the Court, revealing that Range Forest Officers or Beat Forest Officers were processing applications and recommending extensive tree felling based on their assessment that the trees posed a threat to life and property.
The court ordered to form the committee comprising the Chief Conservator of Forests, a Botany, expert, and a senior administrative officer holding at least Secretary rank to advise the government on measures to curb large-scale tree felling, meticulously examining all tree-cutting applications and conducting independent inquiries before issuing directives to the Forest Department.
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Notably, these directives may comprise approvals, rejections, or conservation-focused alternative recommendations.
Furthermore, the committee will undertake a district-by-district assessment of applications to ensure all decisions adhere to existing legal frameworks.
“We would only permit their felling if absolutely necessary for the preservation of life and property,” the bench underscored.
“We also take judicial notice of the fact that without any application, taking the law into their own hands, many culprits are indiscriminately felling trees, then converting the trunks into logs, uploading them to transport vehicles and doing commercial transaction with them on a large scale,” it stated.
The bench’s order continued to mandate that local forest officials must not allow the felling of any tree unless it presents an imminent and critical threat to life and property, making even a short delay impossible.
The bench further noted the Advocate General’s submission that the Meghalaya Tree (Preservation) Act and Rules of 1976 govern the Municipality and Cantonment area of Shillong, while the rest of the state falls under the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 and its associated 2003 Rules.
Following the Advocate General’s submission, the bench clarified that their current order explicitly excludes cases where the Central government has granted forest clearance under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, for development projects or issued directives regarding deforestation, afforestation, etc.
The bench added that the validity of any such permissions was not under consideration in this instance.