The illegal felling of trees and illegal operation of Sawmills in Meghalaya has assumed such wide and significant proportion that the said illegal operation of saw mills and also illegal felling of trees has resulted in severe public outcry in the State. The common conscious citizens of the country have reasons to be anxious in the face of gross mismanagement of the entire forest cover and resources of the State. The entire episode has now attained higher proportions in view of some recent developments which prima facie reveal the intention of the authorities manning the affairs of the State to help in achievement of undue gains to a few individuals at the cost of the Environment, depleting the Forest resources and Public Interest, and environmental safety.
A PIL was filed by Advocate Nayanjyoti Medhi on behalf of the Garo Students Union through the Khasi Hills Zone President Sanjeeb A Sangma and General Secretary Alex R Marak praying for urgent judicial intervention of the Gauhati High Court into the illegal operation of sawmills and also illegal felling of trees in the State of Meghalaya, more particularly in the Garo Hills region and the subsequent inaction by the department of forest and other authorities in the State of Meghalaya to ensure strict compliance of the Hon'ble Apex Court's orders passed in W.P 202 of 1995 [T.N. Godavarman Thirumulkpad versus Union of India]. It was prayed on behalf of the Garo Students Union that if Gauhati High Court does not urgently interfere to close down the illegal saw mills operating in the State of Meghalaya and monitor the entire conservation of natural forests, protection, forest rehabilitation, regeneration, afforestation, reforestation and new plantations, with a view to maintaining or restoring the ecological balance, the State will soon have depleted the entire forest cover leading to environmental imbalances of catastrophic proportions. The Division Bench comprising of Chief Justice Shri Jasti Chelameshwar and Justice Hrishikesh Roy has admitted the petition and issued notice to the Government of Meghalaya which was accepted by Government Advocate of Meghalaya Sri Ratul Goswami.
Further details may be had from Sanjeeb A Sangma at +91 98630 22587 or +91 94363 13284
PermalinkSubmitted by MD AFTAR HUSSAI... on Sat, 26/01/2008 - 17:10
Sir,
It is very nice that our people is now environment conscious. Sir in my locality (Doboka, Nagaon, Assam) there also many illegal saw mills running. But the Ranger takes monthly ransom money from the owner and they are now destroying our valuable forest.
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There is report of escalating tension in Chirang district following recovery of the bodies and there are reports of minority community protesting on the streets against the death of the three men. Additional reinforcements of police and para military forces have been rushed to the affected areas, where forces are already deployed since the outbreak of Bodo-Muslim clashes in July. Night curfew continues in Kokrajhar and Chirang, which are part of Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts, and Dhubri.
After a very brief silence, violence seems to have resurfaced in the BTAD areas. In a yet to string of murder and mayhem, five persons have been killed in Kokrajhar on Sunday. Three bullet riddled bodies were found in Chirang on Sunday. This is apart from two more bodies found in Kokrajhar district. One person is reported missing in the district.
According to Chirang Superintendent of Police, the three - father and his two sons - had left the camp for displaced persons at Kawatika village of Chirang district in the afternoon on Saturday and their bodies were found on Sunday.
The Assam government has set up a group of ministers to oversee and coordinating the relief and rehabilitation measures in the affected districts on his direction.
According to sources, the GoM comprises Revenue Minister Prithibi Majhi as chairperson and comprises Planning and Development Minister Tanka Bahadur Rai, Public Health and Engineering Minister Gautam Roy, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Nazrul Islam, Education and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Environment and Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain and Transport Minister Chandan Brahma. Agriculture minister Nilamoni Sen Deka will be the Member Secretary of the GoM.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday said that the government is taking steps to ensure best treatment for all inmates, particularly to children and mothers, residing in camps for displaced persons in the violence-hit BTAD areas and Dhubri district Gogoi directed Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma along with other senior officers of the health department to be present in the affected areas. Gogoi has also instructed that all medical and para-medical staff and medicine requirement may be refurbished by requisitioning from other districts.
The B Barooah College student who went missing on Saturday has been rescued in . New Jalpaiguri on Sunday.According to information, Saidul Islam approached RPF officials in NJ P alleging that a group of miscreants forcibly took away him by train when he was on the way to Panbazar on Saturday afternoon. The N JP . RPF officials then conveyed it to their Guwahati counterpart on Sunday wee hours which was later passed to his Kokrajhar-based parents. A team of Guwahati police is leaving for NJP to bring him back to the city.
A college student has been remaining traceless in Guwahati from Saturday. Identified as Saidul Islam, first year degree student of the B Barooah College went missing from 3 in the afternoon from Panbazar where he went to buy books. Police operation is going on in the city to trace Saidul who hails from Kokrajhar. Panbazar police station has already registered a case and investigation is going on.
Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that altogether 13 refugees died in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts during the recent violence. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Dr Sarma said that the department was working in 303 relief camps in the affected districts. According to him, so far blood tests of 8102 refugees have been conducted with over hundred of them testing positive for malaria.
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