Residents of Nyukmadong, an off the high village in West Kameng district say Border Roads Organisation destroyed more than 80% of sacred forest with impunity. Almost after 60 years of collateral damage to one of the ferocious battles between Indian army and Chinese invaders, a village in Arunachal Pradesh is fighting a war to protect a sacred forest from a project that aims to prevent a repeat of 1962.
The villagers said that more than 80% of sacred forest has been destroyed for an alternative ‘strategic’ road to Sela. More than the ‘heritage trees’ along the alignment 34kms road and the damage has been done by earth dumped indiscriminately on valuable trees and medicinal plants.
According to the people destruction of their sacred forest began more than a year ago without any community consultation or participatory meeting. The community leaders lodged a formal complaint with the Additional Deputy Commissioner West Kameng on 14th June 2021 to stop the project. When this did not materialise the leaders filed a complaint against the Borders Road Organisation at Dirang police station on 24th August. This also could no stop forest destruction.
The villagers received a major blow when the States’s Principal Chief Conservator Forest, R. K. Singh granted the diversion of 97.95 hectares of forest land to construct the road before he was transferred to Mizoram.
The community leaders on 10th September have decided to approach the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
