Assam To Seek SC Intervention
- 28-Jul-2021
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A day after border clashes with Mizoram left five state policemen and a civilian dead and 60 others injured.
The Assam government will move The Supreme Court seeking protection of Innerline Forest Reserve from destruction and encroachment, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday.
He told a press conference in Silchar that satellite images have shown that roads are being constructed and forests cleared for jhum cultivation which cannot be allowed.
Jhum cultivation is a farming activity where farmland is cleared of trees and other vegetation and then set on fire. The practice is followed in most states of the northeast.
The dispute is not regarding land but encroachment of reserved forests is the issue. We have no settlements in the forest areas and, if Mizoram can give evidence, we will immediately carry out eviction, said Assam CM.
The chief minister asserted that not an inch of Assam's land could be encroached by the neighbouring state.
The Assam government, he said, will deploy three commando battalions in Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts bordering Mizoram to strengthen security.
