Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court on Tuesday sought a status report from the Assam government regarding the translocation of 77 trees from the Ambari-Dighalipukhuri area.
These trees are being moved to facilitate the construction of a flyover on GNB Road.
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During the hearing of a petition filed by senior journalist Mahesh Deka, activist Jayanta Gogoi, and freelance journalist Chandan Borgohain, the court also accepted the government’s submission that 23 trees in and around the Assam State Museum, which were initially identified for optional translocation, will not be touched for now.
The case was heard by Acting Chief Justice Lanusungkum Jamir and Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak.
Senior advocate KN Chowdhury, appearing for the petitioners, presented photographs to the court showing that some of the translocated trees have already dried up. Chowdhury argued that the Assam government should form an expert panel for tree translocation, as the state government lacks prior experience in such operations.
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After hearing Chowdhury’s arguments, Acting Chief Justice Jamir addressed Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia, stating, “We will do one thing, we direct you to file a status report with regard to translocation. And if we are satisfied with the report, we will close the PIL.”
Advocate General Saikia assured the court that the government would file the status report by Wednesday, June 25, 2025. The court will hear the matter again on Friday, June 27, 2025.
The petitioners, Mahesh Deka and two others, filed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) after the Assam government’s plan to translocate 77 trees in the Ambari area and identify another 23 trees on the Assam State Museum campus for optional translocation.
Earlier, in October of last year, the petitioners had filed a PIL opposing the felling of 21 trees in the Dighalipukhuri area. At that time, the court accepted an affidavit from the government assuring that no trees in the Dighalipukhuri area would be affected.
However, when the government began trimming trees in the Dighalipukhuri-Ambari area in May and June of this year, the petitioners filed an Interlocutory Application (IA) to bring it to the court’s notice.
During the hearing, the Assam government informed the court that the trimmed trees intended for translocation were in the Ambari area, not Dighalipukhuri. The court then closed the previous PIL and instructed the petitioners to file a fresh petition, which led to the current PIL heard on Tuesday.
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