Saw mills operating along Assam – Meghalaya border, authorities look the other way

Newmai News Network
SHILLONG, June 13

With the whole world now in the grip of climate change, mostly attributed to the excessive felling of trees and loss of prime forests, one would think that there would be a greater impetus towards protection of forests. The government of the state too made a promise to plant more than 5 million trees to combat climate change. However the running of illegal saw mills mainly near the border of Assam and Meghalaya in West and North Garo Hills (NGH) makes it amply clear that the fight may be foregone one.Saw mills within the town of Mendipathar in NGH are mainly centred near the town itself with some of them being only about 100 metres away from the police station. Sometimes, these same mills use the wood from their mills to make furniture near the field where CRPF and BSF personnel are stationed, with no one even raising any objection. To top it all, one source even confirmed that two of the mills in the town belong to an MLA of the district.
Phulbari and Chibinang, in West Garo Hills (WGH) too have similar stories to tell with more than 30 mills in each town though these are mostly hidden from sight.
According to a resident of Phulbari, SR Sangma, “These mills utilize wood from prime trees like teak and sal which are illegally cut from within reserve forests. They are then transported through interior roads before coming to the main road, generally at night to reach their destination. It is a well oiled machine with payments being made to various check gates along the way”.
“We once provided inputs to the administration and police on the number of illegal saw mills, including proof through photographs. Raids were conducted on the mills and machines were taken away. However, just about a month later, the same mills started sprouting again, just about 15 to 20 metres from the original place. You can still see most of these mills a little inside these same roads”, said another resident of Phulbari, TA Sangma.
The worst part of this has been the effect that unscrupulous smugglers have had on the Rongrengre reserve forest, near Williamnagar in East Garo Hills (EGH). The forest has almost been denuded due to increased smuggling and things are looking worse.
“These illegal timber smugglers use the same roads but they are not stopped anywhere. It seems there is a nexus between them and all parties involved or there is no other explanation as to why they can smuggle timber right under the nose of those who are meant to protect the forests”, asserted a resident of Williamnagar on the condition of anonymity.
“Unless something concrete is done to seriously tackle the issue, the region may lose most of its forest cover in the coming months and while the government’s plan of planting trees is novel, they still need time to grow and develop into forests. In the meantime we have to protect what we have left in the region”, he added.
A forest official expressed the inability to control the tree cutting menace. “Most of the forests are costly timber for the market, making it profitable even for militants to cut and sell off. Coupled with these unscrupulous smugglers, most of whom are armed, our department does not really have the necessary firepower to counter their threat”, he said.
Most forest guards and officials are armed only with batons and sticks while those they have to fight against have arms and ammunition to fight back. “We have had so many instances of our guards getting beaten up, sometimes even by villagers. What can we do against people bent on destroying forests?” he asked candidly.
“One part of the solution could be the seizing of mills and equipment and ensuring that they do not come up time and again. If they set up another unit, seize that as well and ensure the business is not profitable. Only when these are destroyed will there be ways to protect our forests”, added SR Sangma.