GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court recently directed Assam’s Principal Secretary (Home and Political) and the Director General of Police (DGP) to submit an affidavit detailing the steps taken to stop illegal coal mining in the state’s forest areas. The court issued the directive after noting that no affidavit had been filed despite nearly 22 months passing since the order was first given.
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The division bench, comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Malasri Nandi, passed the order while hearing a PIL challenging the diversion of 98.59 hectares of forest land in the Saleki Proposed Reserve Forest (PRF) for the Tikok Open Cast Project and seeking the cancellation of approval granted to Coal India Ltd.
The court ordered the personal appearance of the two top officials on February 12 at 10:30 AM, along with all relevant records from the concerned police stations where illegal mining is alleged to be taking place. However, their appearance would not be necessary if the required affidavit was filed by February 13.
In its order, the court noted that while senior government officials are not ordinarily summoned, their failure to submit affidavits had left the court with no choice. It warned that non-compliance could lead to contempt proceedings, which would have serious consequences.
The PIL had also raised broader concerns, including demands to:
- Declare the Dehing Patkai Elephant Forest Reserve and surrounding eco-sensitive areas as an ecological fragile region.
- Designate Jeypore Forest Reserve, Tirap PRF, Dalai PRF, and Makumpani PRF as Wildlife Sanctuaries.
- Conduct a high-level CBI or CVC inquiry to determine criminal and civil liabilities of officials from the Forest Department and Coal India Ltd.
Earlier, the Deputy Solicitor General of India (DSGI) had also informed the court that Coal India Ltd. had ceased mining activities in the reserve forest, but other entities had continued operations illegally. The court had previously directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, in collaboration with the state government, to prevent illegal mining unless environmental conditions were met.
Despite this directive, the Home Department and Assam Police had not submitted an affidavit on the matter, prompting the court’s latest order.
The PIL has been scheduled for further hearing on February 14.