An Assam-based environmentalist has flagged Meghalaya-like rat-hole coal mines operating along the State’s border with Arunachal Pradesh, advising the government to save the eco-sensitive coal belt by upgrading five reserved forests in the area to wildlife sanctuaries.
In a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, submitted via Golaghat District Commissioner Parag Kumar Kakati on Monday (February 16, 2026), green activist Apurba Ballav Goswami said poaching and rampant coal mining pose a grave threat to the reserve forests near the 231.65 sq. km. Dehing-Patkai National Park straddling Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts. A rainforest, this park is often referred to as the ‘Amazon of the East’.
Rare flora and fauna
He said five reserved forests — Tinkopani, Tipong, Tirap, Saleki, and Makumpani — under the Jagun range of Digboi forest division should be declared as wildlife sanctuaries for the conservation of rare species of flora and fauna there.
“As illegal coal mining continues in Jagun, Lekhapani, and Margherita forest ranges, these reserved forests will be lost to poaching and mining in the coming days. I hope that the Chief Minister will set an example by upgrading these reserved forests to sanctuaries,” Mr. Goswami wrote.
