Gauhati HC Seeks Report on Working Plan for All Forests in Assam

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court directed the Forest Department to file an affidavit with the latest and updated report regarding the formulation of the working plan and its extension to all the forests and various autonomous councils in Assam. Out of the 21 forests falling within the territorial jurisdiction of the Government of Assam, a working plan has been approved and is being implemented for 10 forests, while the work-plan formulation is in process in the others.

This emerged during a hearing conducted by a bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury in a suo moto public interest ligation case [PIL(suo moto)/3/2023], which was registered by the HC on the basis of a news report published in The Sentinel on April 18, 2023.

There is no working plan for most of the forest divisions in the state, which is in violation of the directives of the Supreme Court.

During the hearing, it was brought to the notice of the court that the whole system has become dysfunctional for the reason that some of the higher forest officials were not responding to even the suggestions of the ministers. A forest division cannot be left without a working plan, which only takes care of the conservation of the same, it was pointed out.

K.P. Pathak, standing counsel of the state Forest Department, informed the court that out of a total of 32 forests, 21 forests fall within the territorial jurisdiction of the Government of Assam, and, for 10 out of those 21 forests, a working plan has already been approved and is being implemented. With respect to the others, the work-plan formulation is in process.

The advocates, who appeared for the Bodoland Territorial Council, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, and the Dima Hasao Autonomous Council, informed the court that they have filed their respective affidavits. They have submitted in the affidavits that the process is afoot to have a working plan finalised. In fact, they stated that some of the proposed working plans that were sent to PCCF, Assam, have been returned with necessary suggestions, which are being looked into.

In light of the submission by the standing counsel of the Forest Department, the HC bench directed that the department should file an affidavit with latest and updated report regarding the formulation of the working plan and its extension to all the forests in Assam and the autonomous councils referred to above. The matter was directed to be listed for further consideration on September 19, 2025.

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