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Time of India
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
205 evicted, 146 houses razed across 300 bighas in Doyang Reserve Forest
1 2 Guwahati: Forest department began the eviction of encroachers from the Doyang Reserve Forest in Golaghat district on Friday, demolishing 146 houses amid heavy security deployment. However, another 59 houses were left untouched for now, following an Aug 5 order by a division bench of the Gauhati high court, said a district administration official. The official added that 205 people were illegally occupying over 300 bighas of land in the reserved forest at Negheri Bil at Merapani, which falls along the Assam-Nagaland border. "People of 146 families have already vacated the forest land. The concrete houses were demolished on Friday. Notices were served on the families on July 24, asking them to vacate the land within seven days. However, following a few petitions before the Gauhati high court, the eviction drive was delayed," the officer said. Following the notices, two writ petitions were filed by a few people of Negheri Bil, claiming land rights and praying to treat the notices as 'ignored'. A single-judge bench of the court on July 29 extended the eviction window until Aug 7 and instructed the state govt to initiate steps for eviction and conservation of the forest land after the deadline. The petitioners again approached the two-member division bench of Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury by filing a writ appeal, in which the court on Aug 5 granted the petitioners a 10-day window, until Aug 14, to either submit proof of land allocation or vacate. Till then, the govt was directed not to take any coercive steps against the appellants. Adhering to the orders, forest department and the district administration left 59 houses untouched and demolished the others. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Raksha Bandhan wishes , messages and quotes !
Hindustan Times
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Gauhati HC orders 4 northeast states to form panel, clear forest encroachments
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has asked Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram to form a high-level committee to clear encroachments in forest areas along the inter-state borders of the four northeastern states. Assam shares a border with Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, and the three states are engaged in talks with Assam at present to resolve the disputes. (Representative photo) The court on Tuesday was hearing a petition filed in 2018 by Asom Basaok, a Guwahati-based NGO, and another petition in 2023 by two residents of Sreebhumi district, seeking removal encroachments from forest areas of Assam. 'Convene a high-level meeting of the chief secretaries and chiefs of forest departments of each of the states as well as other relevant stakeholders for formulating a comprehensive plan for making the forest area encroachment free,' a HC bench comprising chief justice Ashutosh Kumar and justice Arun Dev Choudhury said in the order, which HT has seen. The HC direction comes at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Assam is carrying out a large-scale eviction campaign to remove encroachers from government and forest lands. The biggest such exercise started at Uriamghat near the Assam-Nagaland border on Tuesday, where 1,500 hectares of forest land will be cleared of over 2,500 illegal structures. Though the public interest litigations (PILs) were related to forest land in Assam, in July 2023, the HC observed that significant areas of forests located at Assam's common borders with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram had been encroached upon. Following this, the court made all four states party to the case. Also Read: Assam starts massive eviction drive in forest land near Nagaland border 'It appears that several rounds of meetings have taken place between the officials of the states to come to a consensus and build a roadmap for making forest encroachment free... This court believes nothing can remain unresolved with a fruitful dialogue,' the court observed. The court appreciated that none of the four states brought up issues related to border disputes between them during the deliberations. Assam shares a border with Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, and the three states are engaged in talks with Assam at present to resolve the disputes. '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,' the order read. Also Read: 42,000 acres cleared of encroachment in 4 years in Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma 'This would be in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment in that regard. Without making the entire forest area encroachment free, the biotic pressure cannot be eased,' it added. The court directed all four states to inform about the resolutions taken by the high-level committee and actions initiated by the next date of hearing on November 4.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
NH-415 closure causes traffic gridlock, sparks outrage in Arunachal
Itanagar: Commuters in Naharlagun and nearby areas of Arunachal Pradesh faced severe traffic congestion on Tuesday following the closure of the NH-415 stretch from Yupia tri-junction to Barapani bridge for construction work. With vehicles rerouted, long traffic snarls persisted throughout the day, triggering widespread frustration on social media. Citizens criticised the timing of the construction, questioning why major roadwork was initiated at the onset of the rainy season. Many accused the administration of poor planning and lack of foresight. In a related development, the Itanagar Bench of the Gauhati high court reprimanded the Arunachal Pradesh govt and central authorities over the deteriorating condition of NH-415 between Itanagar and Banderdewa. A division bench comprising Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury passed the order while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL No. 11/2024) filed by Naharlagun resident Vijay Jamoh and another petitioner. During a recent visit to the under-construction High Court building in Naharlagun, the judges found the adjoining road "unmotorable." Advocate general I Choudhury later raised the issue with chief minister Pema Khandu. The case concerns the four-laning of NH-415 from km 40+430 to km 51+735 under EPC mode.
