Over one lakh mature trees chopped in Assam in 10 yrs; experts worried in absence of impact study

Guwahati, Mar 8 (PTI) More than one lakh mature full-grown trees have been felled across Assam since May 2016, when the BJP formed its first government in the state, for various public and private projects, according to official records.

The Assam government, on the other hand, said that all these trees were cut in "dire necessity" to develop the projects, while more than 3.5 crore saplings have been planted in the last two years alone to compensate the loss in green cover.

However, experts from different state-run institutions opined that cutting so many trees have resulted in "significant ecological loss" and comparing felling of mature trees with planting saplings is "problematic", while terming it "scientifically concerning" for no study to assess the impact.

Replying to a set of queries sent to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) through an application under the Right to Information Act, 15 out of 44 wildlife and territorial divisions across Assam have said that 1,06,896 trees have been felled so far since May 2016.

A set of 11 queries were submitted to the Office of the PCCF & Head of Forest Force under the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department of the Assam government. It was forwarded to 43 divisions across the state.

Apart from the 15 divisions that provided data, 12 more responded to the RTI application but did not give any information related to tree felling.

No reply has come from the remaining 16 divisions at all so far.

None of the 27 divisions that responded to the queries have conducted any study on the impact on ecology for cutting these huge numbers of trees over the years.

When contacted, Assam Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary told PTI that the trees were cut for oil exploration projects as well as infrastructure development.

"These trees have been cut across the state for various development projects. It was a dire necessity to fell the trees for different projects," he added.

Giving examples, Patowary said a huge number of trees were cut for the four-laning of National Highway-17 from Guwahati to Goalpara and construction of the Darrang Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).

"In most places where trees were cut, roads have been developed -- mainly the national highways. Besides, ONGC and Oil India are also exploring crude and developing wells at new locations. For that too, some trees were felled," he added.

The DMCH is being built at a location where there was a silk plantation. So, the entire area was cleared for construction work, the minister said.

"We have planted a huge number of saplings against these felled trees. In 'Amrit Briksha Andolan', we planted one crore saplings in a single day. There are other schemes also. We have planted a total of 3.5 crore saplings in the last two years," he added.

According to the RTI data, most of the responding authorities said that more than 70 per cent saplings have survived after proper care.

Over 26,000 trees have been felled in notified forest areas since May 2016, while the remaining have been cut in non-forest locations.

Nearly 84,000 trees were chopped for various government projects like construction of roads, bridges, flyovers, factories and buildings such as medical colleges, police battalions and all other structures. More than 10,000 trees have been felled for private works.

The available information shows that almost 65,000 trees have been logged from 2021 to 2025 during Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's tenure. Over 18,000 trees were removed during his predecessor Sarbananda Sonowal's period.

When contacted, Cotton University Environmental Biology & Wildlife Sciences Assistant Professor Narayan Sharma told PTI that equating the felling of mature trees with planting saplings is "problematic".

"A full-grown mature tree represents decades of ecological value that cannot be quickly or easily replaced. In most cases, sapling plantations hardly compensate for the loss of mature trees immediately, as it takes decades for them to provide comparable ecosystem services, if they survive at all to the adult stage," he added.

On the absence of a study to assess the impact of felling such a huge number of trees, Sharma, an expert of biodiversity conservation, said that when large numbers of trees are felled at a particular location, a proper ecological impact assessment "must be conducted".

He stressed that such a study or research is necessary to ascertain the damage to local microclimate and biodiversity ecosystem, including its hidden impact on human physical and mental health.

Expressing similar sentiments, Gauhati University Assistant Professor (Environmental Science) Minakshi Bora said that as an environmental science teacher, she would interpret this RTI data with caution and concern.

"I would say the numbers appear impressive, but they are not directly comparable. Felling over one lakh mature trees and planting saplings are ecologically unequal actions." A mature tree represents decades of biomass, carbon storage, habitat value and ecosystem services that a sapling cannot immediately replace, she added.

Bora, a GIS and Ecohydrology expert, also commented that not conducting the impact assessments in respective divisions is "scientifically concerning".

"Without systematic study, cumulative ecological degradation may go unnoticed until impacts become severe and irreversible," she added. PTI TR PYK TR RG