NGOs urge Sonia to restrain Assam MLA from forests

Even as Assam government is yet to arrest Congress MLA Praneswar Basumatary after Forest officials filed an FIR against him for obstructing ...

Even as Assam government is yet to arrest Congress MLA Praneswar Basumatary after Forest officials filed an FIR against him for obstructing eviction of encroachers in Nameri National Park, a few leading environment protection groups of the state have written to party president Sonia Gandhi to take action against him.

Basumatary, the MLA from the Sootea constituency in Sonitpur district, had allegedly not only stopped the forest officials from evicting encroachers in the Nameri National Park but also incited a mob to set ablaze a forest guard camp on Sunday.

The 200-sq km Nameri National Park on the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas was notified in 1999, and is home to the endangered white-winged wood duck, capped langurs, and game-fish golden mahaseer.

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A case has been registered under at the Rangapara police station against the culprits including the MLA under Section 147, 148, 149, 353, 436, 447 and 506 of the IPC. The NGOs, including Aranyak Nature Club and Nature’s Beckon, however complained that the Forest officials were being pressured to withdraw the case.

‘‘The act of the MLA is not only unconstitutional, but has brought disrepute to the state and the country as a whole. It is unfortunate your party harbours such criminals who are plundering the forest violating all the forest and wildlife protection laws the country has enacted,’’ Aranyak Nature Club secretary Bibhab Talukdar said in his letter.

Nature’s Beckon director Saumyadeep Dutta too has faxed a letter to the Congress president and has urged her to direct Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to take disciplinary action against Basumatary. The MLA had earlier pressured Kaziranga Park officials to allow his supporters to fish inside the rhino habitat, they alleged.

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