STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Jorhat district administration is contemplating drone surveillance along the Nagaland border to oversee the extent of encroachment there. The move, however, is subject to permission from the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) and other authorities.
Talking to The Sentinel on this issue, Jorhat DC Ashok Barman said, "We're contemplating drone surveillance along the Nagaland border in Dessoi Valley Reserve Forest. Many areas in the Reserve Forest (RF) are remote and not motorable. The aerial surveillance can let us know the extent of encroachment there. The move, however, is subject to permission from the authorities concerned. If permitted, we can get a clear picture of encroachment in the Dissoi Valley Reserve Forest and other areas along the inter-state borders."
Sources said that during his on-the-spot visit on May 28, Special DGP GP Singh had talked to the Nagaland counterparts after the May 27 firing by miscreants from Nagaland on Congress MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi and the people accompanying him. And the meeting decided that the Jorhat and Nagaland's Mokokchang deputy commissioners would meet within three days. However, the Mokokchang district authorities couldn't make time because of the Corona pandemic and the lockdown, the sources said.
The Jorhat Deputy Commissioner was even ready for a virtual meeting to sort out the matter. However, there has been no response from the Nagaland counterpart to it as yet, the sources added.
A few days back, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma went on record saying that the State Government had received a letter from the Nagaland Government on the border issue. Sarma said that the two States would mutually try to restore peace on the border areas till the Supreme Court settles the inter-State border dispute.
According to official data, the State has 312 reserve forests, 22 per cent of which i.e. 3.87 lakh hectares is under encroachment by a section of people from Assam and other neighbouring states. There have been eviction drives to make reserve forest encroachment free from time to time, but to no avail. There are around 500 forest villages with a population of around 2.50 lakh inside reserve forest areas in the State. Evicting such people is not an easy task as the matter is entwined with the humanitarian angle.