Activists Oppose Tree Felling for Elevated Railway Corridor Near Guwahati's Ramsar Site
Guwahati: Activists have strongly opposed the felling of trees along the banks of Deepor Beel, a Ramsar site near Guwahati, for an elevated railway corridor. While the activists and the railways agree that the project is necessary to prevent elephant deaths in train collisions, the method of clearing trees has sparked controversy.
Environmentalists have demanded that valuable trees along the four-kilometre foothill stretch be transplanted instead of cut. However, their demand has not been accepted so far, leading to ongoing protests.
Concerns Raised by Environmental Activists
Pramod Kalita, an environmental activist from the Deepor Beel area, highlighted that many of the trees being removed are Segun (teak). He claimed that more trees have been marked in the Deepor Beel area and near Rani Reserve Forest. In a memorandum to the East Kamrup Division DFO, Kalita wrote, "These trees are very important for environmental prospect, bird resting, sometimes nesting of Copper Smith Barbet, Blue-throated Barbet etc. as well as beautification of the Deepor Beel area." He had earlier filed an objection with the PCCF and head of forest force, Assam.
Kalita cited conditions laid down by the deputy inspector general of forests (central) requiring the user agency to explore translocating the maximum number of identified trees and to ensure felling only when unavoidable under strict supervision of the state forest department. He said, "Many trees that could have been translocated have already been cut or are about to be cut. We are not against development. In fact such an elevated corridor was much needed to save wildlife from coming into collision with trains."
Forest Department's Response
Kamrup East DFO Ashok Kumar Dev Choudhury stated that translocation was not feasible and that more than 100 trees would need to be cut. "All the trees that come in the proposed plan have grown bigger and were not in a stage to be translocated," Choudhury told TOI, as the felling continued. He mentioned that rain in recent days slowed the clearing work but it would continue. "Major chunk of the trees that are planned to be cut are yet to be chopped off. Hardly about 25 trees were cut in the last few days," he said. He also assured that no trees would be cut inside Rani Reserve Forest.
Compensatory Afforestation Plans
NF Railway CPRO KK Sharma said a compensatory afforestation programme is underway and 880 new trees will be planted in place of those removed. He explained that the plan was finalised based on a World Wildlife Institute, Dehradun, report, and referred to a committee formed by the NGT to examine the proposal. "As per recommendation of World Wildlife Institute Dehradun, the development and submission of Environment Management Plan (EMP) prior to commencement of work at site by the contractor is being ensured," Sharma said.
The project aims to reduce elephant deaths caused by train collisions, a significant issue in the region. While activists acknowledge the need for the elevated corridor, they continue to push for more environmentally sensitive methods, such as tree transplantation, to minimize ecological damage.
