Order of the Gauhati High Court regarding destruction of Tipam Hills by coal smugglers, Dibrugarh district, Assam, 04/02/2025
The Gauhati High Court order dated February 4, 2024 regarding destruction of Tipam Hills by coal smugglers.
A PIL was registered by the HC taking into consideration a newspaper report dated April 5, 2018 published in a newspaper wherein it was reported that illegal activities were carried out by coal smugglers in the Tipam Hills area under Digboi Sub-Division resulting in destruction of historic Tipam Hills.
After issuance of notice to the State and other respondents, several compliance reports have been filed before this Court, wherein the State as well as the other respondents have submitted that the illegal mining activities carried out by the coal smugglers in the Tipam Hills under Digboi Sub-Division have now been stopped and regular monitoring is being done so that no illegal mining is carried out by the coal smugglers in the said area.
T.J. Mahanta, learned Amicus Curiae has submitted that after the compliance reports filed by the State and other respondents, no illegal activities are being witnessed in the Tipam Hills from the last two years.
However, learned Amicus Curiae has submitted that the State be directed to continue the monitoring and supervision so that illegal mining activities cannot again be carried out by the coal smugglers. In addition, it has come to the notice of the court that It is also noticed that during pendency of the PIL (Suo Moto) petition, another issue regarding protection of the monuments of historical importance of the Ahom dynasty has also been raised.
In this connection, the Court, on April 30, 2024, directed the state of Assam to bring on record the steps taken by the state government with regard to the booklet provided by Dr. Jogendra Nath Phukan, by which it was brought to the notice of the High Court about all historical sites and monuments of the Ahom Dynasty in Assam, which are not covered under the protected monuments.
Pursuant to the direction given by the HC on April 30, 2024 an affidavit was filed on behalf of the Director, Directorate of Archaeology, Assam on August 29, 2024 wherein a statement has been made that a survey is going on to identify the historical monuments and thereafter, necessary steps will be taken to protect the same. The report went on to say that so far as the monuments of the Ahom Dynasty are concerned, an exercise is to be undertaken for the purpose of taking those monuments under the purview of ‘protected historical sites/monuments’ by measuring their authenticity, integrity and archaeological findings.
The HC taking into consideration the submission made by the Director, Directorate of Archaeology, the HC disposed of the PIL (Suo Moto) petition with a direction to the authorities to complete the exercise expeditiously, preferably within a period of 6 months and thereafter take effective measures for protection of the historical monuments relating to the Ahom dynasty in Assam.
At the same time, the Gauhati High Court directed the Assam government as well as the concerned authorities to monitor and supervise the Tipam Hills area to prevent illegal mining by the coal smugglers.