The recommendation by the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) not to treat scientifically planned and time-bound river dredging within forest areas as a “non-forest purpose” if the dredging is undertaken to address problems caused by natural disasters can be precarious for the ecologically fragile northeast region unless backed by a tough monitoring and inspection regime. Treating river dredging as “non-forest purpose” under the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, will allow such activities to be carried out without prior forest clearance and will be treated as part of forest management. The process of obtaining forest clearance for removal of forest produce ensures checks and balances against ecological destruction, as it is subjected to intensive scrutiny by forest and ecological experts. Treating it as either commercial or non-commercial can easily distinguish the purpose if the removal of forest produce is for generating revenue or for ecological restoration, protection and management of the forest ecosystem. The draft guidelines recommended by FAC to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change emphasises that river dredging within forest areas should aim to remove excessive accumulations of silt, debris, stones and boulders, restore the natural carrying capacity and flow of the river, and, to the extent feasible, facilitate the restoration of its natural course and drainage regime while ensuring that the dredging does not lead to damage to nearby forest areas. The draft guidelines explain the rationale: during monsoon, particularly in hilly and mountainous regions, intense rainfall and flash floods can significantly alter river dynamics. Such events often cause changes in river courses, erode riverbanks, and deposit large volumes of silt, sediment, debris, stones and boulders within river channels, adversely affecting the hydrological regime, ecological integrity and overall functioning of the affected forest ecosystems. Rampant illegal mechanised sand mining from rivers in Assam continuing unchecked despite repeated complaints speaks volumes about critical monitoring and enforcement gap. This has posed a serious ecological threat to several river ecosystems, drastically bringing down fish and aquatic populations in those and also aggravating riverbank erosion and triggering a water availability crisis for farmlands along the catchments. Such a monitoring and enforcement gap leaves room for speculations that river dredging within forest areas carried out without monitoring and compliance mechanisms will lead to illegal extraction of silt, debris, stones and boulders and deviation from approved scientific plans. Even though proposed non-commercial river dredging is to be undertaken by the state government, it will essentially involve the engagement of private agencies to carry out the dredging operations. Laxity in monitoring will allow unscrupulous contractors engaged in such work to indulge in corrupt means of extracting excessive debris, stones and boulders, causing irreversible ecological damage. Independent and third-party monitoring and inspection of such river dredging activities within forest areas will also keep official monitoring and inspection machinery under check. The guidelines propose that the dredged material originating from forest lands shall be treated as forest produce, and the removal, handling, transportation and disposal of the dredged material shall be carried out in accordance with the applicable State forest laws, rules and codal provisions. The State Government shall designate the State Forest Department, Forest Development Corporation or an entity under the management and control of the State Forest Department as an agency for implementation of the approved dredging plan. The designated agency shall be responsible for laying down the methodology for the removal, handling, transportation and disposal of the dredged material, as well as proper accounting and management of the revenue generated from its disposal, it adds. This highlights the onus placed on the state government to ensure adherence to the approved dredging plan and that the ecological integrity of river dredging activities ultimately hinges on strengthening the monitoring and inspection regime. The guidelines insist that any dredging activity undertaken beyond the period approved by the State Disaster Management Authority or outside the scope of the approved guidelines shall be treated as commercial mining and constitute a violation of these guidelines and the provisions of the Van Adhiniyam. In such cases, the State Nodal Officer shall immediately suspend the dredging activity in the forest area and initiate appropriate legal proceedings against such violations in accordance with the penal provisions of the Adhiniyam. While compliance with this provision can provide a safeguard for ecological protection against any illegal, excess or unscientific removal of boulder, silt, etc. from rivers within forest areas, it will depend on how consistently violations are detected through on-ground inspections and promptly acted upon. Another safeguard, which the state government will be required to ensure, as recommended by the FAC, is ensuring compliance with applicable environmental safeguards prescribed under the National Framework for Sediment Management under the supervision of State Pollution Control Boards. Inherent ecological risks in river dredging demand that the draft guidelines be opened for wider expert consultation prior to their adoption and implementation.