Arunachal: Adi students expose timber smuggling racket, slam forest department inaction

The Adi Students’ Union (AdiSU) has alleged widespread illegal timber logging and transportation in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang, Siang, and Upper Siang districts, raising serious concerns over the forest department's inaction and environmental damage.

According to AdiSU Speaker Kalen Tadeng, seven trucks carrying 44 timber logs were intercepted by the union's team around 9:30 pm on July 22 near Rengging village view-point and Okok Resort — both along the Pasighat-Pangin road. The trucks were reportedly headed toward Pasighat.

“We were shocked to see the timber-loaded trucks moving at night. Everyone knows timber cannot be legally transported between dusk and dawn,” Tadeng said.

The AdiSU team, en route to Rumgong to attend a site verification for a new power line project, stopped and questioned the drivers. According to Tadeng, the first four trucks were allegedly carrying timber from No.3 Tamuk Sawmill, Pasighat, while the remaining three were linked to Rome Sawmill in Mebo. Drivers reportedly claimed the timber came from the Lelek diversion area near Rottung, Siang district.

None of the drivers could produce valid timber permits (TPs) or inner line permits (ILPs), confirming the operation’s illegal nature, Tadeng said. The drivers also admitted the sawmill owners instructed them to move timber at night to avoid detection.

“No one was checking them. The forest department seems to be completely missing,” Tadeng added. “It shows the poor credibility of the department.”

AdiSU has sharply criticised the forest departments of East Siang, Siang, and Upper Siang districts, accusing officials from divisional forest officers (DFOs) to range forest officers (RFOs) of negligence.

“They are not genuinely interested in protecting the forests,” Tadeng stated. “They are only drawing salaries without fulfilling their responsibilities.”

The union is now calling on the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and the state’s Environment and Forest Minister to take urgent and firm action. It has also sought intervention from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, to regulate sawmill operations and prevent large-scale felling of trees.

AdiSU warned that previously untouched forest areas in steep terrains, once protected by natural inaccessibility, are now being exploited with JCBs and other machinery. The union linked this unchecked activity to environmental degradation and rising global warming risks.

“We urge the government to bring sawmills under strict monitoring and ensure enforcement of forest laws,” the union said in its appeal.