Centre directs legal action against Senior Assam forest official over ‘gross’ forest law violations

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has directed the Assam government to initiate legal proceedings against M.K. Yadava, Special Chief Secretary (Forest), for the unauthorized diversion and construction on protected forest land in two separate locations in the state.

According to official communication from the Ministry, Yadava in his previous capacity as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force (HoFF) allowed the diversion of 28 hectares of forest land in the Geleky Reserved Forest in Sivasagar district and 11.5 hectares in Damcherra Innerline Reserve Forest in Hailakandi district, both without mandatory central government approval.

India Today NE reached out to the Chief Secretary of Assam and the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister regarding the notice; however, they did not respond to the query.

The unauthorized activities facilitated the construction of a 2nd Commando Battalion Camp by the Assam Police Housing Corporation Ltd., in blatant violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 — now renamed the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.

The issue came under scrutiny following a detailed site inspection by the Shillong Regional Office of MoEF&CC on August 16–17, 2024, which revealed large-scale, permanent constructions on forest land. In its findings, the inspection team highlighted that the infrastructure built was inconsistent with conservation objectives and lacked required Central clearance a violation of Section 2 of the Act and Rule 11.8 of the 2023 Guidelines.

In response to a Central query, Yadava had defended the move in a written explanation dated March 13, 2025, claiming the camp was essential for forest protection. However, the Ministry's Advisory Committee, during its August 27, 2024, meeting, rejected this reasoning, emphasizing that even security infrastructure requires prior approval and that the scale of the construction reportedly 80 percent complete was excessive and ecologically damaging.

The findings were corroborated by a separate site inspection conducted under the directive of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in OA No. 105/2024/EZ, which confirmed significant environmental disruption caused by the construction on sensitive, undulating terrain.

Citing Rule 15(2) of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023, the MoEF&CC has now ordered the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) concerned to launch legal proceedings against the offenders within 45 days, and submit an action-taken report to the Regional Office, Shillong.

Additionally, the Assam government has been asked to submit monthly progress reports in light of the seriousness of the violation and the ongoing NGT litigation.