Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has directed the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram to constitute a high-level committee to address the issue of forest encroachments along their inter-state borders.
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, seeking the removal of illegal settlements from forest lands in Assam.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury ordered the chief secretaries and heads of the forest departments of the four states to hold a joint meeting and formulate a comprehensive plan to make the forest areas free from encroachments.
“Convene a high-level meeting… for formulating a comprehensive plan for making the forest area encroachment free,” the bench stated.
The court emphasised the need for coordinated inter-state action.
“This court believes nothing can remain unresolved with a fruitful dialogue,” the judges remarked.
During a hearing in 2023, the court noted that several forest areas along Assam’s borders with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram were also encroached upon. Consequently, it included the three neighbouring states as parties to the case.
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.
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Stating that clearing encroachments is a priority over pending border disputes, the court noted, “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.”
