Guwahati: Gauhati High Court has sought a response from the Assam and Arunachal Pradesh govts on the steps taken to remove encroachments from reserve forests along the interstate border in Sonitpur, Biswanath, Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts.The court has sought details on action taken to clear Behali and Singlijan Reserved Forests in Biswanath district of encroachments, amid allegations of continuing deforestation and illegal construction.The court asked both the state govts to respond by Nov 16 by way of affidavit.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury issued the direction while hearing a PIL filed by Amitabh Choudhury.The petition raised concerns over alleged encroachment, deforestation and illegal construction within notified reserved forests in Sonitpur, Biswanath, Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The petition has highlighted Behali and Singlijan reserve forests in Biswanath district.According to an estimate placed before the court by the petitioner, around 6,733 hectares of Behali Reserve Forest and 450 hectares of Singlijan Reserve Forest have allegedly been encroached upon.The petitioner submitted that villages have come up within the forest areas and permanent structures have been constructed. Several civic amenities have also allegedly been institutionalised in these areas, the court order noted. The petitioner argued that such developments violated constitutional protections under Articles 14, 21, 48A and 51A(g), as well as provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the Assam Forest Regulation, 1981.Senior advocate HK Das, appearing for the petitioner, argued that there was no legislative vacuum preventing the state authorities from evicting encroachers from the reserved forests. He submitted that the powers available to the authorities were, for reasons not known to the petitioner, not being utilised.The court asked additional advocate general PN Goswami, appearing for Assam, and senior govt advocate A Chandran, appearing for Arunachal Pradesh, to respond to the petition and furnish details of the action taken to make the identified reserve forests encroachment-free.
