A division bench of the Gauhati High Court has directed the Assam government to file an affidavit clarifying whether mandatory forest clearance was obtained for the Guwahati Ring Road Project — a 121-kilometre highway being built around the city at an estimated cost of Rs 6,000 crore.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, was hearing PIL 22/2026 filed by Arkashish Chaliha and Mahesh Deka.
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The petitioners raised alarm after the Divisional Forest Officer of the Guwahati Wildlife Division issued an e-tender to select a contractor for felling trees inside the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding eco-sensitive zone.
They described the move as premature and potentially irreversible. "Such action is dubbed as post-haste, and if it is allowed to go through, it will cause irreparable damage before any proper scrutiny by the concerned authority is made," the petitioners stated.
Additional Advocate General P N Goswami, appearing for the state, pushed back on the petitioners' concerns, submitting that all required clearances — including those under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 — have already been obtained.
The bench was not satisfied with a verbal assurance alone. Before directing a detailed affidavit, the court secured a statement from the government that the tender in question would not be finalised until the next date of hearing.
The matter has been posted for April 23, 2026.
The Guwahati Ring Road is being developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under a concession agreement signed in April 2025. The project includes a long bypass road requiring widening of existing roads and construction of a bridge over the Brahmaputra River.
The petitioners are not opposing the ring road itself. Their concern is specific — the bypass route as currently planned allegedly cuts through the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary and its eco-sensitive zone, an area that serves as habitat for elephants, gibbons, leopards, pangolins, and other wildlife, and includes a critical elephant corridor.
The petition acknowledges that the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife has approved the project — but notes that the approval came with conditions, including a mandatory full impact study, a ban on night construction, and other stipulations.
The petitioners allege that these conditions are not being properly followed, which forms the core of their legal grievance.