NBWL recommends coal mining in elephant reserve forest in Assam 

GUWAHATI: National Board for Wild Life (NBWL) has said yes to a proposal recommending usage of 98.59 hectares of land at Saleki (which falls under Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve) proposed reserve forest for coal mining project under North-Eastern Coal Field (NECF), a unit of Coal India Limited.

NBWL has asked Assam officials to assess the situation.

The Standing Committee “recommended for approval” of the site which was earlier broken up by NECF and a new plan on this front needs to be submitted, claim reports.

The decision have been criticised by many environmentalists.

“The Assam Forest Department has completely failed in protecting the biodiversity of the State and has allowed all illegal mining of coal, stone, sand, etc., violating all rules and regulations. It is obvious that there is a corrupt nexus in operation and the State Forest Minister has become a mute spectator,” Green activist Rohit Choudhury told media. He said with this the government has gone against its own remarks on “rampant violation of local forest laws” made in November 2019.

Also Read: Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma warns a group of quarantined people

Also Watch: Sellers take advantage of helplessness of panic stricken citizens by overpricing commodities