Row over battalion unit construction in Assam forest

Construction started shortly after that without a prior forest clearance under the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023

A forest official in Assam allowed construction by a commando battalion unit in a protected forest, ostensibly to stop encroachments by Mizo people from neighbouring Mizoram, creating a furore among local conservationists, compelling the Union environment ministry to take notice and direct the state government, in March this year, to immediately halt construction.

The construction of the commando battalion unit was cleared in the Assam-Mizoram interstate border area of Inner Line Reserve Forest involving diversion of around 44 acres of forest. (HT PHOTO)

In 2023, MK Yadava, then the principal chief conservator of forests and head of the forest force in Assam, approved the construction by a commando battalion unit