A village in West Kameng in Arunachal Pradesh is fiercely fighting to protect their sacred forests from a BRO-administered road project.
Despite their ancestors bravely supporting the Indian Army soldiers in fighting the Chinese invaders 60 years ago, the villagers are now forced to defend their sacred forest lands from the Indian Army and the Ministry of Defence (MoD), who are attempting to build an alternative “strategic” road to Sela.
The residents of Nyukmadong village assert that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) destroyed over 80% of the 36 sq. km sacred forest with no consultations or compensation. The villagers allege that the damage caused by the earth dumped indiscriminately on valuable trees and medicinal plants down the slope from the edge of the under-construction road was even more severe than the heritage trees felled along the alignment of the 34 km road from Banga-Janga-Gompa to Naga GG (BJG-NGG).
Despite the villagers' appeals to the State government and their efforts to seek justice, officers of the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF under BRO) have shown no regard for the destruction of the landscape.
Yeshi Tsering, a retired horticulture officer and chairman of the local committee, asserts that the BRO officers do not care about the destruction of the landscape. Dipayan Dey of the Kolkata-based South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE) also highlights that the road project is an example of trespassing and ignoring the rights of a local tribal community to the land and the forest ecosystem they depend on.
The patch of land has been declared a community reserve forest by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) due to its rich biodiversity, including the red-listed Indian red panda.
There is no official statement by the BRO on the felling of trees within the sacred forest.
The community representatives state that the deforestation (for the road) has affected their traditional holy sites, locally referred to as Phu. The locals assert that the destruction of their sacred forest began more than a year ago without any community consultation or participatory meetings.
On June 14, 2021, the community leaders lodged a formal complaint with the Additional Deputy Commissioner of West Kameng to halt the project. On August 24, 2021, the community members lodged an F.I.R. against the BRO at the Dirang police station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, but this could not stop the destruction of the forest.
The State’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, R K Singh, granted diversion of 97.95 hectares of forestland to construct the BJG-NGG road before being transferred to Mizoram. However, the letter of approval to the commanding officer of the 97 RCC (GREF) was almost a year too late, according to a local activist.
The local stakeholders assert that much of the damage to the sacred forest cannot be reversed.
Tsering emphasizes that nothing can compensate for the loss of biodiversity, but the community as landowners should be paid for re-greening the bald patches.
After meeting with green activists from outside the State, community leaders from Nyukmadong and adjoining areas assert that they will approach the National Green Tribunal.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Complaint against procedural violations
Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources
Opposition against environmental degradation
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common and Private
Forest and Non-Forest
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Project underway despite protests
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Religious/Sacred/Cultural value, Other environmental services
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Data Unavailable
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
Yes
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Violation of environmental laws
Non-consultation with stakeholders
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
No
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Border Roads Organisation (BRO), GREF, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Forest Conservation Division
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
M/s Agnitio Infrastructure Projects Pvt. Ltd., M/s Technocrats Infrastructure Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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