Assam felled 65,000 trees in CM Sarma’s tenure; over 1 lakh in decade: RTI reveals

Guwahati, March 8: More than one lakh mature trees have been felled across Assam over the past decade for various public and private development projects, according to official data obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) query.

The information, sought from the Office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force under the Assam Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, shows that 1,06,896 full-grown trees have been cut across the state since May 2016, when the BJP formed its first government in Assam.

Data was collected from 15 out of 44 wildlife and territorial forest divisions in the state that responded with relevant information. While 12 divisions replied without providing details of tree felling, the remaining 16 divisions have not responded to the RTI queries so far.

Significantly, none of the 27 divisions that responded to the RTI application reported conducting any ecological impact study before or after the felling of such a large number of trees.

Official figures show that over 26,000 trees were cut in notified forest areas, while the rest were felled in non-forest locations across the state.

Of the total, nearly 84,000 trees were removed for government projects, including construction of roads, bridges, flyovers, factories, medical colleges, police battalions, and other infrastructure. More than 10,000 trees were cut for private works, the data indicates.

The RTI data also reveals that the pace of tree felling accelerated in recent years.

Approximately 65,000 trees were cut between 2021 and 2025, during the tenure of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while over 18,000 trees were felled during the previous government led by Sarbananda Sonowal.

Assam Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary defended the tree-cutting, stating that the felling was undertaken out of “dire necessity” to facilitate development projects.

“These trees have been cut across the state for various development projects. It was necessary for infrastructure development,” Patowary said.

According to the Minister, several large-scale infrastructure and industrial projects required clearing of trees. Among them were the four-laning of National Highway-17 from Guwahati to Goalpara, the construction of Darrang Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), and exploration activities by oil companies such as ONGC and Oil India.

Patowary explained that the DMCH project site earlier hosted a silk plantation, which had to be cleared entirely for construction work.

Responding to concerns over the reduction of green cover, the Assam government highlighted large-scale plantation drives aimed at compensating for the loss.

Patowary said that the state planted over 3.5 crore saplings in the past two years under various afforestation initiatives. One of the most prominent programmes, “Amrit Briksha Andolan,” saw the planting of one crore saplings in a single day.

According to official reports submitted by forest divisions, more than 70% of the planted saplings have survived due to proper care and monitoring.

Despite the plantation drives, environmental experts say that equating the felling of mature trees with planting saplings is misleading and scientifically flawed.

Narayan Sharma, Assistant Professor of Environmental Biology and Wildlife Sciences at Cotton University, said mature trees provide ecological benefits that saplings cannot replace for decades.

“A full-grown mature tree represents decades of ecological value that cannot be quickly or easily replaced,” Sharma said.

“In most cases, sapling plantations hardly compensate for the loss of mature trees immediately, as it takes decades for them to provide comparable ecosystem services," he added.

Sharma also stressed the need for proper ecological impact assessments whenever large-scale tree felling occurs.

“When large numbers of trees are felled at a particular location, a proper ecological impact assessment must be conducted. Such studies help determine the impact on local microclimate, biodiversity, and ecosystem stability,” he said.

Environmental experts also expressed concern that no systematic study has been conducted to assess the cumulative ecological damage caused by the felling of more than one lakh trees.

Minakshi Bora, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Gauhati University and an expert in GIS and ecohydrology, said the numbers should be viewed with caution.

“The numbers appear impressive, but they are not directly comparable. Felling over one lakh mature trees and planting saplings are ecologically unequal actions,” Bora said.

She explained that mature trees store large amounts of carbon, provide habitat for wildlife, and play a critical role in maintaining local ecosystems.

“A mature tree represents decades of biomass, carbon storage, habitat value, and ecosystem services that a sapling cannot immediately replace,” she added.

Bora also described the absence of ecological impact assessments as “scientifically concerning.”

“Without systematic studies, cumulative ecological degradation may go unnoticed until impacts become severe and irreversible,” she warned.

PTI