Plantation along border with Nagaland postponed: Assam Minister

Golaghat (Assam), Aug 23 (PTI) A plantation drive at Rengma Reserve Forest in Assam’s Golaghat district, along the border with Nagaland, was postponed on Saturday after a decision was taken to wait for approval of the chief minister of the neighbouring state to carry out the exercise, officials said.

Two senior ministers from both states, along with top officials, held a discussion near the proposed plantation site and decided to pursue the next course of action jointly, they said.

The Assam delegation was led by Environment and Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, and the Nagaland team by Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton.

“Both evictions and plantations will continue. Today’s plantation didn’t take place as the deputy CM (of Nagaland) will have to apprise his chief minister about the plantation exercise. He will take the chief minister’s approval, and then the plantation drive will be conducted,” Patowary told reporters.

The minister maintained that he had the necessary approval from the Assam chief minister and could have gone ahead with the plantation, but it was decided to undertake the drive together with Nagaland, as the neighbouring state was also agreeable to the idea.

Patton affirmed that the status quo will be maintained along the interstate border.

“We will maintain the status quo as per the court order. We are thankful to the Assam forest minister and government for removing the fencing and pillars erected here,” he said, adding that evictions to clear encroachment will continue.

An official statement from the Golaghat district administration said the delegations from the two states visited the Rengma Reserve Forest and subsequently held a meeting at Bidyapur Field in Uriamghat to discuss plantation-related issues along the interstate boundary.

They deliberated on the importance of ecological restoration, conservation of forest resources and fostering cooperation between the two states.

Both sides underscored the need for joint efforts to ensure that plantation activities are undertaken smoothly in the sensitive Rengma Reserve Forest area.

It was agreed that the plantation initiative would be formally undertaken after discussions between the chief ministers of Assam and Nagaland. Both governments reiterated their commitment to work together for the protection of forests and sustainable development in the border region, the statement said.

Assam shares a 512.1-km border with Nagaland, with a dispute over the boundary since the creation of the neighbouring state in 1963. The matter is now pending before the Supreme Court for a resolution.

It was said in the Assam assembly in March that 59,490.21 hectares of land have been captured by Nagaland.

The Assam government had carried out a two-phase massive eviction drive at Rengma recently.

It had cleared encroachments on around 9,000 bighas (over 1,200 hectares) of land, affecting around 1,500 families, mostly from the Muslim community, in the five-day-long first phase exercise that ended on August 2.

The second phase inside Rangma Reserve Forest was conducted on August 18 to clear encroachment on around 26 hectares of land, displacing 41 families, according to official information.

Soon after the eviction drives, local reports had claimed that Naga people were attempting to encroach the cleared land, which was dismissed by Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.

“There is no encroachment by Naga people. In fact, Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio will join hands with us for the plantation drive. We aim to plant saplings in 12,000 bighas of land at Rengma. This is going to be a significant step from an ecological point of view," the Assam CM had said.

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