HC advises Assam not to plant Conocarpus trees ‘Steps taken to address issues raised in report’

GUWAHATI: The Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, Justice Sandeep Mehta, advised the Assam Government not to plant Conocarpus trees in the state under its urban area beautification projects as the tree is harmful for the environment as well as for human beings. The High Court said this while hearing a PIL based on a suo moto PIL based on a report from The Sentinel.

The High Court heard the PIL filed on the April 18, 2023, report of The Sentinel headlined ‘23 Forest Divisions do not have approved working plans’. The high court took cognizance of the report on April 20, 2023. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Suman Shyam, said, "The report reflects that 23 forest divisions in Assam do not have approved working plans. This state of affairs prevails despite the fact that the Supreme Court has, time and again, mandated that all forest divisions have working plans. The report further indicated that the department is being run according to the whims and fancies of a section of Indian Forest Service officers who do not even take the minister concerned into confidence before formulating policies. Hence, we take suo motto cognizance of this newspaper report."

On the PIL, the Advocate General informed the Court that the working plan proposals of 21 of the 33 forest divisions of the state have been sent to the Regional Office of the Forest Ministry of Environment and Forest, located at Shillong. He also said that the drafting of the working plans for two other forest divisions is going on. He further submitted that appropriate steps have been taken to address the issue highlighted in the news report, on the basis of which this suo moto PIL was registered.

Chief Justice Mehta said, "I have seen that Arunachal has planted Conocarpus trees in a massive way." He advised Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia to take up the issue with the State Forest Department and ensure that they do not plant Conocarpus trees in its urban beautification projects as these trees are not environment-friendly.

According to official sources, the State government has not planted Conocarpus trees in Assam. In the 1980s, eucalyptus trees were found in Assam, mainly on roadsides, in massive numbers. Eucalyptus, which is still seen in the state, is also not environment-friendly.

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