Guwahati: Wildlife sanctuaries are pristine habitats for wildlife, flora and fauna. But interestingly, Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary and Charduar Reserved Forest in the Sonitpur district of Assam has something else to offer too: a tea garden, schools, polling station, sluice gate.
Assam Environment and Forest Department has informed the National Green Tribunal of schools functioning indulging in non-forest activities inside the Reserve Forest area in violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
An application was filed by Dilip Nath with NGT last year alleging violations of the Forest (Conservation) Act at Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary (SRWS) in Sonitpur district of Assam.
The NGT has now asked the chief secretary of Assam to file a personal affidavit giving details of officers who permitted such extensive construction in gross violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The affidavit must also explain the inaction of the Principal Chief Conservator of the Forest under whose very nose such illegal activities were allowed to go on since 2017.
Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary was a part of Charduar Reserve Forest and declared a game sanctuary with an area of 161.28 sq km in 1934. Later, the area was extended to 191.65 sq km in 1937. The area was finally declared the Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary Sanctuary in 1998. There was no forest village inside the reserve forest and the sanctuary, and no claims of rights within the reserve forest or the sanctuary’s boundary were received during the process of declaration of the sanctuary.
According to the 2021 State of Forest Cover report, Assam has lost 15 sq km of forest cover since 2019. According to a reply by the Union Forest and Environment Minister in 2022 in the Parliament, Assam had the highest area of forests under encroachment.
How it all began
“The reserve forest was subject to various biotic pressures mostly in the form of organised encroachments. The sanctuary faced major encroachment mainly by Bodo communities, spreading northwards from the Batashipur area of Charduar reserve forest,” the Assam government affidavit stated.
It also stated that encroachments started in 1977-78 in the Charduar and Balipara reserve forest on a small scale, and increased during 1996-97 in a big way when thousands of people, mostly indigenous people and other than tribal people came in a single day and started clearing the reserve forest.
In 1996, the state government took action against encroachers in the Charduar reserve forest and Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary by undertaking numerous eviction operations resulting in the demolition of huts. In 2013, eviction operations were also carried out when new encroachment was noticed.
In 2006, the then deputy commissioner, Sonitpur, with police and other officials, visited the sanctuary and found extensive tree felling inside the sanctuary. Requests were made by the superintendent of police Sonitpur to the police department for armed forces to stop new encroachments. To safeguard the remaining undisturbed forest tract of Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary an area of 120 sq km was notified as “Satellite Core of Nameri Tiger Reserve” in 2018.
On the schools functioning inside, the forest department in its affidavit stated that action was taken by the Dhekiajuli Range Officer by lodging an FIR against the Managing Committee of the Schools inside the Charduar Reserve Forest for violation of the provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
The affidavit stated that Irrigation Department is constructing a sluice gate at Siloni River in violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 within Charduar Reserve Forest and a letter has been issued to the Executive Engineer, Udalguri Mazbat Irrigation Division, Udalguri regarding illegal construction work being carried out within Charduar Reserve Forest without permission of the Competent Authority in violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
Not only that, a tea garden was set up by one Jay Ram Rabha within Charduar Reserve Forest without any permission from the Competent Authority in violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and, thereafter, on October 10, 2017, and June 27 2018, the Range Officer, Charduar Range was instructed to dismantle the existing and ongoing infrastructure works inside the Balipara Reserve Forest.
“Whether it has been dismantled and forest restored has not been stated for reasons best known to the Joint Secretary, who has filed this affidavit,” the NGT in its order stated.
The affidavit stated that an FIR had been lodged against the contractor Lalit Kr. Agarwal for violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 by constructing a 5 km long road within Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary.
The NGT said in its order it is not known whether the road has been removed and the forest restored has not been stated.
The affidavit stated that polling stations under 71 Dhekiajuli, 74 Rangapara and 75 Sootea Legislative Assembly were set up within the Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary. The deputy commissioner Sonipur has been informed and reported that the matter is being taken up with Chief Electoral Officer Assam.
The affidavit states that ring wells were installed by the Public Health Engineering Department within the Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary.
The NGT stated that the affidavit has not stated whether these illegal encroachments have been removed.
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