Miscreants ‘set afire’ afforestation project at Naloni Reserve Forest in Tinsukia

OUR CORRESPONDENT

TINSUKIA: Miscreants allegedly burned down part of a forest plantation at Naloni Reserve Forest under the Doomdooma Forest Division in Tinsukia district on Thursday.

According to reports, the Doomdooma Forest Department implemented an afforestation scheme under CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) at No. 2 Naloni Reserve during 2023-2024 at a cost of Rs 20 lakh over 5 hectares, with a proposed plantation of 10,000 Hollong saplings in a phased manner.

DFO Dipankar Borah told this correspondent that the incident took place on February 19, 2026, around noon, when a few labourers resting at a camp noticed a blaze emanating from dried leaves. An investigation is in progress, and the department has initiated steps to replant the damaged plot of land, Borah said.

Elaborating further, Ranger Mehdi Hasan said the incident damaged an area measuring 80m x 80m. He added that local villagers often use the plantation area for grazing cattle despite objections from the Forest Department. A similar incident also took place in a 7m x 7m plantation area on February 10, in connection with which an FIR was lodged.

According to sources, the Forest Department had refused to pay allegedly exorbitant bills submitted by some villagers for certain works, which reportedly led to animosity between the department and the villagers.

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