Illegal stone mining rampant in Doboka Reserved Forest: RTI Activist
Despite having permission for only one hectare of land, a group of lessee or contractors has been exploiting several km of forest land, the RTI activist alleged.
Due to the unabated illegal mining activities by the contractors there has been massive deforestation in the area. (Representational Image)
Nagaon, May 18: A recent investigation uncovered widespread destruction of forest resources in Doboka Reserved Forest areas due to alleged illegal stone mining.
Despite having permission for only one hectare of land, a group of lessee or contractors has been exploiting several kilometres of forest land, flouting environmental and forest conservation laws. This serious allegation has been brought by Dilip Nath, an RTI activist of the State, while addressing a press conference here on Friday.
He alleged that due to the unabated illegal mining activities by the contractors there has been massive deforestation in the area. Consequently, they are flouting the Compensatory Afforestation (CAMPA) scheme, which requires planting of trees in an alternative area equivalent to the forest land used for mining.
In support of his allegation, the RTI activist mentioned the names of some contractors and said that one AR Laskar and one Z Rahman had been granted environmental clearance for stone mining in specific areas, but they allegedly exceeded their limits and destroyed vast tracts of forest land flouting several laws including the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, Environmental Protection Act, 1986 and Mines and Minerals Act 1957.
Referring to the approval to AR Laskar for stone mining in the reserved forest, the RTI activist said that Laskar was granted permission for stone mining in one hectare of land in 2017. But he allegedly destroyed several kilometres of forest land since then, he said, adding that similarly Z Rahman was also granted environmental clearance in 2018 for stone mining in one hectare of forest land. But he too exceeded the limits, destroying several hundred acres of hills and destroying forest land, which apparently poses a serious threat to the biodiversity and other wildlife.
The RTI activist, during the press conference, demanded intervention of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in this regard and also urged him to check and scrutinise satellite images for evidence.
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