Tura, Dec 29: Garo Hills has always been known to the world for its varieties of flora and fauna — a scarce resource at this point in time. However, as has been happening over the past decade, this year too saw huge tracts of natural resources being attacked by greedy smugglers with no care for what their actions would mean for future generations. All this continues under the careless eyes of a system that feels more at home with bending the rules rather than implementing them.
Timber smuggling and presence of illegal sawmills
If one really wants to know the audacity of smugglers and the impunity with which they operate, one only needs to stand at the Chibinang Market near Phulbari in West Garo Hills. Timber, sold by people from the hills, are transported on a daily basis through the market through the entire day and night. It really would not take long for one to spot a vehicle carrying illegal timber coming through with gay abandon. What is even more incriminating is the fact that the vehicle passes through a GHADC forest check gate with no action being taken to stop these acts.
As per local sources, the collusion has been a long known affair. Illegal timber carrying trucks only have to ‘pay’ their royalty to the custodians of the regions forests and are allowed a free pass through. There is also the monthly system that is charged to all the mills in operation by the very men meant to protect our forests.
“It cannot make sense otherwise. The department is very aware of where the illegal saw mills operate so if you really are serious about shutting them down, all you have to do is cut off supply. These vehicles cannot fly to these illegal mills and have to use the road. The roads are all monitored by the GHADC and in part by the state forest department so there is no question that these can be stopped. The blooming of over 100 saw mills across the plain belt of WGH suggests they are more bothered about filing their pockets than saving the environment,” said a resident of Phulbari on condition of anonymity.
The problem, however, is manifold in nature. The Forest department has been understaffed for over a decade now, leaving them to fend with scarce resources. The GHADC, which should have been the main protagonist in pulling the plug on illegal timber smuggling, has actually gone into slumber. One cannot really fault them completely as their salaries have been stuck for ages and if these smugglers can provide those rations, so be it.
As per sources, there are at least 100 illegal saw mills operating through the entire stretch of the plain belt of West Garo Hills. Beginning from Hallidayganj to Tikrikilla, these illegal saw mills operate with impunity despite the knowledge of those meant to act against these mills.
Another fact that is widely known is the state of the reserve forests of the region. Latest reports of forest cover now and back then signify that these reserves have been denuded beyond repair. It has affected all reserves within Garo Hills and going by the way things have been shaping up, is likely to continue.
It is not difficult to understand why such acts are taking place. Most of state reserve forests are filled with high value timber, including sal and teak. These prized timbers are sold at throwaway rates by some conniving locals to smugglers, most of who are from Assam. The smugglers make a killing by clandestinely transporting these for sale in other markets.
Another worrying aspect in conservation of forests has been the continued encroachment of forest land by some unscrupulous locals. These acts have jeopardised efforts to reforest the reserves.
The state reserves that have been affected due to deforestation are the Rongrenggre Reserve, the Darugre and Dambo Reserves, Kharkutta Reserve, Chimunbangshi, Dibru, Angratuli, Baghmara to name just a few. In fact, even the Nokrek Biosphere has been affected by continued felling of trees to plant commercial crops.
Unless something concrete is done to stay such rampant acts, the effects of climate change and the lowering of the water table could be irreversible.
As per estimates, the state has been losing about 25 square kilometres of forests every year to various activities like farming, encroachment and smuggling. However, a thorough investigation into the issue could in fact reveal the number to be a faux pas.
Quarrying of stones
What can be more damning than the fact that even companies that have been contracted to pave roads within Garo Hills have been quarrying stones illegally?
This startling revelation came about during an investigation over complaints of a company not having quarrying permission despite being given a contract for road renovation. It was later revealed that the company, despite having applied for quarrying permission from the state more than six months ago, was not given the clear. However, the company still managed to complete a stretch of close to 35 kilometres of road restoration along the NH 51 between Anogre to Tura without anyone batting an eyelid.
The same took place in other routes as well with no one questioning the origin of the stones or how such illegal acts could actually be taken by companies that are expected to work within the limits of the law.
Another company that has been working on the side of the law now has a delay in the construction of their contracted road between Tura to Dalu as their quarry is set up almost 80 kilometres away from the place they are working on.
The problem is not only with companies but with small operators as well.
A report earlier had found hundreds of illegal stone quarries that were operational near the village of Chibinang. A crackdown on the area led to the closure of all these quarries though, as per reports, more than a dozen of them in places like Magalpara, Kangklanggre, Najokgre, among others, continue to operate despite the checks put in place by the Forest department.
The problem, say locals, is the continued delay by the state departments in providing legal permission for carrying on quarrying activities.
“There is a huge demand for stones and this has to be satisfied somehow. When people seek permission for quarrying stones, the files just don’t move beyond a point. They provide you crusher permission but are loath to provide quarrying permission. This has led to a situation where people have had to operate quarries illegally just to ensure the crusher machines function properly,” informed a local from Chibinang.
The solution, many feel, would be to set up a single window so that people can apply for quarrying permission through a nodal officer and the rest work with those seeking permission to check on the viability of such applications.
Sand Mining
After the direction by the High Court of Meghalaya to stop rampant sand mining in various parts of the state, the Forest department took a strong stance on the act and put a stop to all forms of mining activities without the proper directions being followed. This resulted in a huge number of people losing their livelihoods temporarily. However, in time, these operators got the due permissions and began to work as per guidelines of the government. Currently, sand mining has become more organised and poses a lesser threat to the immediate environment surrounding it.
Coal Mining
No analysis can ever be complete without the mention of coal mining and its impact on people as well as the environment of the state. The mineral that provided the biggest revenue to the state has been in a state of stasis since the National Green Tribunal (NGT) sought a complete ban on rat-hole mining in 2013. Almost a decade later, miners are yet to make mining of coal functional through scientific methods.
With mines in most areas completely hidden or far from populations, it has become difficult to estimate the extent of rat-hole mining that is actually taking place. However, with the High Court coming down extremely strongly against such acts, transportation of coal, whether legal or illegal, has come to a complete standstill in Garo Hills as well as most parts of the state.
Further, with the state not really working hard on transporting the extracted coal through Coal India Limited (CIL) auction, the business of coal has become non-lucrative for now.