Guwahati, Sept. 6 -- Assam's Environment and Forest department has illegally sanctioned the construction of another commando battalion camp within the state's reserve forest.

Sources said that M.K. Yadava, the state's Special Chief Secretary (Forest) who previously served as Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), approved the construction of the 6th Assam Police Commando Battalion Headquarters in the Kundil Kalia Reserve Forest.

This action was taken without obtaining the mandatory prior approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), a requirement under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam.

This move has been widely described as a "gross violation" of forest conservation laws.

The Kund...