Guwahati: Assam will tighten security at the Behali Reserve Forest after surveys found extensive damage, officials said Thursday.Forest minister Jayanta Malla Baruah ordered intensified surveillance, infrastructure upgrades and immediate restoration after satellite imagery and drone assessments showed encroachment and destruction across nearly 400 hectares in the reserve forest along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.Acting on chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s directions, Baruah reviewed the situation with senior officials of the forest department, Assam Police and the civil administration. He asked officials to plug gaps in forest camps, improve approach roads to vulnerable areas and start work on an additional access road to enable faster deployment of personnel. Poor connectivity, he said, delayed intervention and allowed illegal activities to continue.The minister directed Assam Police and the Forest Battalion to maintain close coordination and round-the-clock surveillance in vulnerable stretches. Additional camps will be set up in areas where forest destruction has been reported.Reiterating the govt’s resolve, the minister said, “Not a single tree will be allowed to fall. The state govt is fully committed to protecting every inch of its forest land, and all necessary measures will be taken to prevent further destruction.”He assured frontline staff of full support and asked them to discharge their duties with confidence. “The miscreants are doing this with some motive, which is why they resorted to firing. Our police force will respond accordingly, and whenever and whatever action is required will be taken jointly by the forest department and the police,” he said.Baruah said boundary-related issues would be addressed through established political and administrative mechanisms, but forest destruction could not be justified. He said the Gauhati high court had also made it clear that forest destruction cannot be linked to any boundary dispute.He directed officials to take legal action against encroachment, trespass and forest destruction within Assam’s jurisdiction. Plantation and ecological restoration work will begin on Friday in coordination with the Ecological Task Force.
Forest and environment minister Jayanta Mallabaruah takes stock of the destruction o forests allegedly carried by miscreants from neighbouring state in Behali Reserve Forest
