Police Camp Built in Assam's Geleky Violates Forest Laws, Centre Informs NGT

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that the construction of a police battalion camp in Assam's Geleky reserved forest was undertaken without prior approval from the central government, violating the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980. The revelation was made in an affidavit submitted to the NGT’s eastern bench on October 1.

The ministry also instructed its regional office in Shillong to take necessary action under Sections 3A and 3B of the Adhiniyam, which pertain to penalties for violations of forest conservation laws. These sections deal with offences committed by authorities and government departments. According to the law, non-forest activities on forest land require prior approval.

The affidavit was submitted in response to a case involving the construction of a commando camp on 28 hectares of reserved forest land in the Geleky forest of Assam’s Sivasagar district. The NGT had previously directed the ministry to report on actions taken against Assam's senior forest officer, M.K. Yadava, for the illegal diversion of forest land.

The ministry, citing a site inspection report from its Shillong office, confirmed that large-scale construction of the camp was progressing rapidly and was permanent in nature, contravening the legal provisions for forest protection. The ministry had, in a letter dated August 28, 2024, instructed both its regional office and the state government to take action and halt all activities on the forest land.

Additionally, the NGT had formed a committee of senior ministry officials to investigate the matter. The committee visited the site on September 27 and is expected to submit its findings by the end of October.

While the Assam government had justified the construction as necessary for securing the forest from encroachers, claiming it was for forest conservation and management, the environment ministry has not yet granted the requested ex post facto clearance, as the matter is still under review.

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