India, May 19 -- The Kolkata bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Assam government to remove encroachments from 4,240 hectares of forest cover in Kamrup (Metropolitan) district by the end of December next year, according to an order seen by HT.

In the order issued last week, judicial member justice B Amit Sthalekar and expert member Arun Kumar Verma directed the Assam chief secretary and the principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) to ensure expeditious compliance of the order and submit an action taken report on complete clearing of the area by December 31, 2026.

"Take expeditious steps for the removal of the encroachments and ensure that the entire area of 4240.04 hectare of encroached forest land in Kamrup ...