STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Senior Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) leader Debabrata Saikia has submitted a petition to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking urgent intervention over alleged judicial non-compliance, illegal mining along the Assam-Nagaland border, and what he described as the worsening impact of the devastating Upper Assam floods of July 19, 2026.
In his petition addressed to the President, Saikia alleged that publicly available satellite imagery; open-source information and media reports indicate continuing violations of central mining and environmental regulations in coal-bearing areas along the Assam-Nagaland border. He claimed that mining activities have continued without adequate land reclamation, backfilling, slope stabilisation and lawful environmental monitoring.
Saikia also referred to an order of the Gauhati High Court in PIL No. 62/2019, which had directed the constitution of a High-Power Committee and a Mines and Minerals Task Force Battalion to curb illegal mining and protect the fragile ecosystem of the Dikhow River. He alleged that contempt proceedings initiated in 2021 indicate the court’s directions have not been fully implemented.
The Congress leader further claimed that the July 19 floods in Upper Assam, which affected districts including Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Golaghat, caused widespread loss of life, displacement, crop damage and destruction of infrastructure. He urged an independent assessment to examine whether unchecked mining, riverbed disturbance, deforestation and ecological degradation in the adjoining hill areas contributed to the severity of the floods.
Saikia also stated that Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma had publicly described the issue as an inter-state matter and expressed limitations in addressing it, arguing that the matter now requires direct intervention by the Central Government.
In his petition, Saikia requested the President to direct the concerned Union Ministries, the National Green Tribunal and other statutory agencies to establish an independent monitoring mechanism for mining activities in the Assam-Nagaland border districts, enforce satellite-based monitoring and public disclosure of compliance, ensure implementation of the Gauhati High Court’s directions, investigate alleged contempt arising from non-compliance, conduct an independent environmental and hydrological assessment of the July 19 floods, and take action against mining operations found violating environmental or judicial norms.
He said the petition was filed in the larger public interest to safeguard rivers, forests, farmland, human lives and ensure the rule of law.
Also Read: Assam: Debabrata Saikia blames illegal mining for Dikhow floods