GUWAHATI: The National Green Tribunal has ordered an immediate halt of road construction inside the Barak Bhuban Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam's Cachar district. The tribunal issued the order after taking cognisanceNational Green Tribunal of a plea that raised the contention that the construction was being carried out without the necessary permissions under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.
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The plea has further raised concerns over M K Yadava, Special chief secretary in charge of forests, who has allegedly cleared the diversion of forest land without proper authorisation. This is not the first time Yadava has been accused of violating law with regard to forests. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Environment discovered that his decision to allow a commando battalion camp on forest land in Hailakandi district violated the regulations of conservation.
The order passed by the NGT bench comprising Justice B Amit Sthalekar along with expert member Arun Kumar Verma stated, unless and until there is sanction from the central government as required under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, no construction shall be permitted within the Barak Bhuban Wildlife Sanctuary during the pendency of the present case.
The NGT has sought responses from the Assam government, the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, and Yadava within four weeks.
