30-80% Reserve Forest in Guwahati encroached upon, some areas are criminal hubs

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Straight from the horse's mouth (from the State Forest authorities) – around 30-80 per cent areas of Reserve Forest (RF) in an around Guwahati have been encroached upon. Even more alarming fact is that a few of these encroached RF areas are criminal hubs.

In his recent report to the State government, CCF-T (Chief Conservator of Forest-Territorial), Central Assam, has spelt out the precarious situation of RF areas in Guwahati and how a section of encroachers is posing a serious threat to civic life in Guwahati.

The report says – 60 hectares of the 70-hectare Kalapahar RF, 220 hectares of the 670-hectare Fatasil RF, 126 hectares of the 171-hectare Gotanagar RF, 2500 hectares of the 6,075-hectare Apricola RF and 400 hectares of the 1426-hectare Marakdola RF have been encroachment upon in Guwahati. Area-wise the highest encroachment has been in the Goarbhanga RF. A vast 2,210-hectare area of the 18,860-hectare RF has been encroached upon. And there has been no eviction in these encroached RFs in the city.

The CCF-T's report sent to Dispur has also made it a point that if RF areas in the heart of the city cannot be saved from encroachers, how can encroachment of RF areas be saved in rest of the State? "The government should take immediate action," the report said.

Dropping a broad hint on the security threat to the metropolitan city and the State as well, the CCF-T's report further said that the Fatasil RF in the city has become a criminals' den. "It's a hub of criminals and there are possibilities of all sorts of criminal and antisocial activities being carried out by encroachers. As such we may be allowed to proceed without further delay for eviction," the report stressed.

A source in the Forest department said, "Even as the report pinpointed Fatasil RF as a hub of criminals, there are other RF areas in the city also where criminals have raised their ugly heads. Encroachment of RF in the State capital has not only led to ecological imbalance, it has given birth to a number of criminal dens in the heart of the city. Apart from eviction drives, the situation also demands a survey to ascertain where these encroachers have come from and their antecedents. More delay in eviction drives will only lead to fast encroachment of the remaining RF areas in the city."

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