Guwahati: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President and illegal mining in Karbi Anglong.
MP Gogoi’s demand follows a recent directive from the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC).
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Gogoi noted that such a high-level probe is the only way to expose the full scale of these unchecked activities.
The CEC instructed the Assam Director General of Police (DGP) and Chief Secretary to ensure strict compliance with the existing 2019 ban on illegal mining and related operations near the ecologically sensitive Kaziranga National Park (KNP).
This order comes nearly five months after an anonymous government official flagged rampant and intensified illegal mining in the vicinity of the national park, directly flouting the Apex Court’s previous directives.
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Taking to his official social media handle ‘X’, Gogoi stated, “The report by the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee confirms what many feared: illegal mining in Karbi Anglong continues unchecked, in blatant violation of court orders.”
He cited that Kaziranga’s southern buffer is currently under a “grave ecological threat” due to these activities.
He alleged that the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) approved these mining operations despite possessing no legal authority to do so.
He also pointed out that the KAAC saw a sharp rise in central funding in this year’s Union Budget, and its Chief Executive Member is a “close and visible associate of the Chief Minister.”
Gogoi added, “I have raised this issue with the Prime Minister before. Today, I reiterate: only a Supreme Court-monitored inquiry can uncover the full scale of this institutionalized illegality.”