Assam Orders Joint Police–Forest Crackdown After Arunachal Miscreants Ravage Behali Reserve

Dispur asks police and forest personnel to work in close tandem. More often than not, miscreants from Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya encroach upon Assam’s forest lands and bully residents of Assam in the bordering forest areas. However, the response or retaliation from the Assam Forest Department to such trespass continues to remain feeble. The state government should establish an effective mechanism to maintain a strong watch over the sensitive reserve forest areas before it is too late.   

Our Bureau

GUWAHATI/BISWANATH: The Assam government has asked the state police force and the forest battalions to work in close tandem to maintain continuous surveillance to secure the state's reserved forest in vulnerable stretches along interstate borders.   

Two days back, miscreants from Arunachal Pradesh felled trees in the Behali Reserved Forest, and they fired at the Assam forest battalion personnel when the latter attempted to prevent them from felling trees. The miscreants felled trees in the Behali Reserved Forest and encroached on 400 hectares of land in the past six months.

Following an instruction from Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Forest Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah inspected the reserved forest area today. Officials from the Biswanath district administration, the forest department and police personnel accompanied the minister, who reviewed the situation at a meeting later.

Behali Reserved Forest, which borders Arunachal Pradesh and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 2022, spans a total area of 157 sq km.

The minister said that the Assam government's firm stance is that 'it won't allow the felling of a single tree.' He asked the officials to take immediate and appropriate legal action as and when unlawful encroachment, trespass or destruction of forest takes place within Assam territory.

The minister assured the forest personnel that the government fully supports them in their duties. The sources, however, said that the government is contemplating examining the call details of the frontline forest staffers on duty in the Behali Reserved Forest to ascertain if any of them have any nexus with Arunachal miscreants.

More often than not, miscreants from Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya encroach upon Assam's forest lands and bully residents of Assam in the bordering forest areas. However, the response or retaliation from the Assam Forest Department to such trespass continues to remain feeble. The state government should establish an effective mechanism to maintain a strong watch over the sensitive reserve forest areas before it is too late.

Also Read: Sonakshi Sinha Support for Sonam Wangchuk, Urges Government to Initiate Dialogue