Assam: NGT stays order for deployment of forest guards in upcoming polls

Guwahati: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) stayed an order seeking the deployment of around 1,600 Assam Forest Protection Force personnel for the April 9 Assembly polls in Assam.

The state government had ordered the mobilisation of the forest force personnel to assist the Assam Police for the upcoming polls.

The NGT’s eastern zonal bench in Kolkata, comprising judicial member Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Ishwar Singh, heard the plea filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal had claimed that by diverting the Assam Forest Protection Force personnel from their primary duties of protection and conservation of biological resources for election and allied purposes, authorities have failed to discharge their statutory obligations under the Biological Diversity Act.

The order has severely compromised the protection and conservation of forests, and that such a large-scale diversion of frontline staff would leave Assam’s ecologically sensitive forests, including tiger reserves and protected areas, vulnerable to poaching, illegal wildlife trade and timber felling.

The tribunal said that prima facie, the averments raised “substantial questions” relating to the environment and issued notices to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the state of Assam, the state’s bio-diversity board and the National Biodiversity Authority.

It posted the matter on April 6 for hearing the responses and submissions.

The tribunal said it has been mandated to apply the precautionary principle, the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act, the Indian Forest Act and the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam.NGT said several issues need consideration, including an “urgent need for conservation, protection and monitoring of areas rich in biological resources, the risk of illegal activities, particularly poaching, illegal wildlife trade, illegal felling and removal of trees”.

It said in exercise of the powers conferred on it by the NGT Act, the special chief secretary to the state government’s environment department is “directed to desist from violating the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act”. The tribunal said “the operation of the impugned order dated March 19 is stayed till further orders to the contrary.”