N G T’s punitive action against KAAC
Sushanta Roy
Hills Live News, Diphu October 29: In a stern judicial development, the Eastern Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Kolkata has imposed a cost of ₹25,000 on the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) on October 26.
The punitive measure was issued following the council’s persistent failure to send legal representation or appear before the court in an ongoing, high-stakes legal dispute concerning the survival and protection of the historic Daldali Reserve Forest an ecologically vital green zone protected since 1933.
The tribunal has expressed deep displeasure over the administrative apathy and has directed the Principal Secretary of the KAAC to personally attend the upcoming hearing.
The NGT’s reprimand brings to light a long-standing pattern of administrative reluctance by the autonomous council in safeguarding the green cover across the twin hill districts of Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong.
Operating under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, the KAAC is vested with autonomous administrative powers, including the protection of land and forests.
However, critics and environmental watchdogs have frequently accused local authorities of turning a blind eye to systematic encroachments and illegal commercial exploitation.
Over the decades, this legislative laxity has resulted in the alarming degradation of dense indigenous forests. Major tracts of vital reserve forests have been systematically cleared, opening up fragile eco-sensitive zones to commercial logging, human settlement, and unauthorized land conversions.
The ecological crisis in Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong has been severely exacerbated by unregulated extractive industries:
Illegal rat-hole mining and unscientific coal extraction in parts of the hill districts have released toxic heavy metals and acidic effluents into local streams and river systems.
Furthermore, the burning of high-sculpture local coal in unmonitored local units heavily pollutes the regional airshed.
Unregulated sand extraction from riverbeds has severely disrupted fluvial morphology, eroded riverbanks, destroyed aquatic habitats, and destabilized local watersheds.
While the Sixth Schedule grants regional autonomy to protect tribal interests and local ecosystems, the failure of local governing bodies to enforce stringent environmental laws has turned these biodiversity-rich sanctuaries into hotspots of ecological vulnerability.
The NGT’s latest intervention marks a critical turning point, emphasizing that constitutional autonomy does not grant immunity from national environmental accountability.