OUR CORRESPONDENT
DIGBOI : At a time when Assam has been grappling with widespread encroachment issues, Jewel Ali, one of the established Tea businessman of Margherita in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district, was summoned to appear in person before the investigation officer in connection to a Lekhapani Range case No LP/01 of 2024-25 prosecuted u/s 24/25 (a), 25 (d)/ 25 (e)/ 25 (f)/ 33/34/35/40/41/ and 49 of Assam Forest Regulations Act 1891.
The official correspondence bearing No LP/ 16/2025/29-30 states, ‘There are reasonable grounds to question you to ascertain facts and circumstances about the above reference case,’ adding, ‘You are directed to appear before the I/O of the case on May 3, 2025 at Lekhapani Range Office by 11 AM failing which action will be taken against you as per law.’
According to sources with the forest department, around 260 hectares of land under Tirap and Paharpur reserve forests under Lekhapani Range have been under encroachment for decades allegedly by local businessmen.
Around 166 hectares of forest land in Paharpur area, predominantly inhabited by the Sema Naga community, have been allegedly utilized by Ali engaging the local tribal community, who in confrontation with the forest department had recently claimed that the land is not recorded in the land registry or in cadastral system.
“Several forest offences have been committed despite stringent warnings and administrative prohibitory orders in the area but anti-forest activities continue here with the kingpin behind the scenes pushing the local people to the front to undo the efforts of the forest department,” said an official of the range office.
When questioned about the failures of the department in securing the forest land from the encroachers, the DFO TC Ranjith Ram IFS said that 4 offices have been set up in all the vulnerable areas including one in Paharpur with the 19th forest battalion to check the forest illegalities.
“Ironically, the resistance from the local residents to erecting a beat office with armed battalion in the Paharpur area have been understood as an effort of the encroachers to thwart the positive development of the government in protecting the green cover,” said the DFO.
“Demands of the local tribal people to call back the forest battalion from Paharpur RF, threatening the forest personals with dire consequences, if needed engaging a militant group, obstructions during duty period, and assaulting a battalion have well been seen as motivated move of the capitalist to secure his business empire using the innocent people,” added the official.
“Following the recent defeat of a local tea businessman in a court case claiming the encroached forest land , the department is now gearing up to evict encroachers from all the forest land and keep the property of the government intact and secured,” shared the official.
The forest department, in order to secure its jurisdiction, has already started the work of erecting mammoth concrete posts along the Assam -Arunachal borders using digital maps and asserting locations using GPS .
Meanwhile, according to official statistics, around 5 percent of the total forest land under Digboi Forest Division has been under encroachment either through human habitation or unauthorised tea garden expansion trespassing the reserve forests.
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