On 5 June 2024, hundreds of villagers, including women and children, protested against the state forest department and demanded to stop the mining of sand gravel in Gohalkona, Lapgaon, and Kompaduli from the Boko River.
The Border Area Development Youth Organisation coordinated the protest, which took place on World Environment Day, and sponsored a tree-planting campaign in the region.
The protest was attended by people from Gohalkona, Jongakhuli, Komaduli, Lepgaon, and Katholpara. Before the protest, locals visited the site where Uday Sarania from Lepgaon died on 17 May 2024 while taking a bath in the Boko River, blaming sand gravel mining for the accident. Villagers requested the state government to offer financial assistance for his family.
The president of the Border Area Development Youth Organisation, Jonson Sangma, stated his dissatisfaction over disregard to his several appeals sent to officials such as the SDC, Ranger, DC, DFO, and Forest Minister. He said, "The sand gravel mining started on 25 January 2023, and since then, the river water has become unusable and polluted. People can no longer use the water for bathing or other purposes, and even cattle refuse to drink it."
On 5 June 2023, the organisation also sent a memorandum to Bhupender Yadav, the Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, voicing their complaints about the sand mining operations and stating that the mining activities had gone beyond the GPS coordinates and depths specified in the agreements.
Bhargabh Hazarika, the Singra Forest range officer said that before legal permits were issued, numerous illegal mining activities had damaged the Boko River. He added, “Before allotment of legal mahal there was rampant illegalities and only few people having upper hand got benefited out of this and due to non-scientific mining, Boko river got badly damaged. Keeping all this in mind, the Goholkona Mahal was allotted following all departmental rules and regulations. When it became legal, many poor people benefited out of this due to scientific mining.”
He alleged that certain individuals protested the legal activities with the intention of returning to illegal practices. He further added that an investigation would be launched and that the required steps would be taken.
In September 2024, several villagers took part in another rally organised by the Satra Mukti Sangram Samittee (SMSS) against the sand and gravel mining in Boko river. During the meeting, SMSS leader Rahul Choudhury declared that the organisation will continue to protest alongside the local populace until the state government closes the mahal. Following which, the state government imposed a temporary ban on sand and gravel mining in Boko river.
The temporary ban received mixed reactions as some of the villagers stated that the impoverished area's socioeconomic situation was impacted both directly and indirectly by the temporary mining restriction.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Opposition against environmental degradation
Complaint against procedural violations
Demand to cancel the project
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common
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
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Other environmental services
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
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.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
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:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Singra Forest Department, District Administration
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:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Border Area Development Youth Organisation
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?
Emilo is pursuing her PhD in Political Science at the North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong. Her primary research areas include human and land rights and gender issues.
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