Gauhati HC Seeks Report from Mizoram, Nagaland, AP on Border Forest Encroachments

The Gauhati High Court has directed the governments of Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh to file affidavits detailing the measures they have undertaken to remove encroachments in the reserve forest land along their inter-state borders with Assam.

A bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Suman Shyam has granted six weeks for the submission of these affidavits.

The division bench was hearing a PIL filed by Asom Basaok, which raised concerns about encroachments in the reserve forest areas of Assam bordering the aforementioned states.

Given that most encroachments have occurred in the reserve forest areas of Assam bordering Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, the court had directed the neighboring states to file their responses on July 26 last year. The court noted that Assam, in coordination with the concerned secretaries of Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, had made efforts to resolve the issue of illegal encroachments, regardless of the boundary disputes with these states.

Although Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh have filed affidavits, the court observed that these affidavits did not provide any suggestions for making the reserve forest land in the inter-state border areas encroachment-free. Assam’s Advocate General D. Saikia submitted to the court that earlier efforts by the Assam government to remove encroachments in the Inner Line Reserve Forest area on the inter-state border of Assam and Mizoram had been resisted by people from Mizoram.

“Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, we deem it appropriate to direct the counsel representing Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh to file their respective affidavits mentioning the measures undertaken by these states to remove the illegal encroachments in the reserve forest land situated along their inter-state borders with Assam,” the bench stated.

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