GUWAHATI: The Assam Forest department seized four coal-laden mini-trucks at Hatigarh village on the Chaygaon-Ukiam road near the inter-state border in Kamrup district on Monday. Forest department sources informed that a team from Bamunigaon forest and protection range launched an operation on the Chaygaon-Ukiam road around Sunday midnight based on a tip-off about illegal transportation of coal through Ukiam Road from neigbouring Meghalaya.
Subsequently, the team found the unclaimed four Assam-registered mini-trucks loaded with coal and later took them to the Bamunigaon forest office, which is also divisional forest office of Kamrup West Division.
The incident brings to light the fact that illegal transportation of coal from Meghalaya still continues in defiance of the Supreme Court’s restrictions.
It may mentioned that the chief conservator of forest, vide letter number (FG.16/ill/2019 dated 16/11/2019), instructed all divisional forest officers (DFOs) to inform, in writing to the head of the department within 24 hours, about the detection of offences, including seizure of illegally transported material such as coal, supari, liquor and livestock, etc. The concerned deputy commissioner also has to be intimated by the respective DFO, according to the notification. However, smugglers continue to illegally transport coal from Shallang and other places of Meghalaya and supply it to other states apart from Assam, sources said.
