Pasighat: The Adi Students’ Union (AdiSU), the student wing of Adi Baane Kebang, the apex and appellate body of the Adis, has raised serious concerns over rampant illegal logging and timber transportation in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang, Siang, and Upper Siang districts.
The union accused the forest department of failing miserably to curb these activities.
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While sharing video evidence of illegal timber transport during night hours, Kalen Tadeng, Speaker of AdiSU, stated that his team encountered seven trucks loaded with 44 timber logs around 9:30 pm on July 22 at Rengging village viewpoint and near Okok Resort, approximately 1.5 km from Rengging.
The four-member AdiSU team was en route to Rumgong that night to attend a spot verification of a new electricity line connection project from Molom to Yosing on 23rd July, following an order issued by the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Rumgong.
Tadeng said they were shocked to see trucks transporting timber toward Pasighat at night, noting that by law, such transportation is only permitted between dawn and dusk.
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“We first came across four trucks at Rengging viewpoint. When we stopped and questioned the drivers, they said the timber came from No. 3 Tamuk Sawmill in Pasighat. Later, we encountered three more trucks near Okok Resort heading toward Rottung on the Pasighat-Pangin road. The drivers claimed that these logs were from Rome Sawmill, Mebo, and sourced from areas around the new Lelek diversion road near Rottung,” said Tadeng.
When the team asked for Transit Permits (TP) for the timber and Inner Line Permits (ILP) from the drivers, none could produce any documentation. According to the drivers, sawmill owners had instructed them to transport timber at night. Tadeng added, “When we asked about forest officials checking the trucks, they said no one had stopped or inspected them. This lack of enforcement is deeply troubling and reflects poorly on the forest department.”
He criticized the Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) and Range Forest Officers (RFOs) in the three districts for failing to enforce forest protection laws. “They seem more interested in drawing salaries than protecting forests,” Tadeng said. He urged the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and the Environment & Forest Minister of Arunachal Pradesh to take immediate and strict action.
Tadeng also expressed concern over the environmental impact of unchecked logging, warning that it contributes significantly to deforestation, environmental degradation, and global warming.
AdiSU has also appealed to the Arunachal Pradesh government and the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, to strictly regulate and monitor sawmill operations across the Adi belt and Arunachal Pradesh. Tadeng noted that with the advent of modern machinery like JCBs, loggers are now accessing and felling trees in steep, previously untouched forested areas.