Gauhati HC directs Assam, Arunachal, Nagaland, and Mizoram to form panel on forest encroachments

The Gauhati High Court has directed the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram to constitute a high-level committee. 

The directive aims to facilitate coordinated action to clear illegal settlements from forest lands and protect ecologically sensitive areas.

The order was passed during a hearing on two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) — one filed by Guwahati-based NGO Asom Basaok in 2018, and another by two residents of Sreebhumi district in 2023 — which sought the removal of encroachments within forest lands in Assam.

During the hearing, the court observed that encroachments were not limited to Assam alone but extended to forest regions shared with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram, prompting the court to include all four states as parties to the case.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury ordered the chief secretaries and forest department heads of the four states to hold a joint meeting and formulate a comprehensive, time-bound plan to free forest lands of encroachments. The bench emphasised that coordination between the states was vital and remarked, “This court believes nothing can remain unresolved with a fruitful dialogue.”

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The High Court’s order comes amid Assam’s intensified eviction drives against illegal occupants on forest and government lands. The latest and largest such operation began Tuesday in Uriamghat, near the Assam-Nagaland border, where authorities aim to clear around 1,500 hectares of forest land of more than 2,500 unauthorised structures.

The court lauded the fact that no contentious border issues were raised during past inter-state discussions and made it clear that forest protection must take precedence over border disputes. “Border disputes would be resolved, but before that, what is of utmost importance is that the forest area falling under the territorial jurisdiction of the States ought to be free of all encroachments,” the court noted.

Citing a Supreme Court ruling on the preservation of forest lands, the bench warned that unchecked encroachments add to biotic pressure and accelerate environmental degradation. The four states have been instructed to submit a report on the committee’s resolutions and action taken by the next hearing, scheduled for November 4.