Miscreants ‘set fire’ to an afforestation project in Tinsukia’s Naloni Reserve Forest.
TINSUKIA Tinsukia: On Thursday, some miscreants allegedly burned down a portion of the forest in the Naloni Reserve Forest under the Doomdooma Forest Division in Tinsukia district.
According to reports, the Doomdooma Forest Department implemented an afforestation scheme under CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) in the No. 2 Naloni Reserve during 2023-2024, at a cost of ₹20 lakh, covering 5 hectares. It proposes to gradually plant 10,000 Hollong trees.
DFO Dipankar Bora told this reporter that the incident occurred around noon on February 19, 2026, when some workers resting at a camp noticed a fire emanating from dry leaves. Bora said an investigation is underway, and the department has taken steps to reforest the degraded land. Explaining further, Ranger Mehdi Hasan said that the incident damaged an area of 80m x 80m. He added that despite objections from the Forest Department, local villagers often use the plantation area for grazing their animals. A similar incident occurred on February 10th in a 7m x 7m plantation area, in connection with which an FIR was filed.
According to sources, the Forest Department had refused to pay the allegedly exorbitant bills submitted by some villagers for certain works, which reportedly led to hostility between the department and the villagers.
