The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has put a hold on an Assam government order that aimed to deploy around 1,600 personnel from the Assam Forest Protection Force for election duties during the upcoming Assembly polls on April 9. The NGT's eastern zonal bench in Kolkata, led by judicial member Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Ishwar Singh, issued this stay in response to a plea that argued such a diversion compromises the state's ecological integrity. The plea, filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal, highlighted that redirecting these personnel from their primary responsibilities under the Biological Diversity Act would leave Assam's forests, including tiger reserves, vulnerable to illegal activities such as poaching and timber felling. The tribunal noted that the situation raised significant environmental concerns and issued notices to various authorities, including the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on April 6 to assess the responses from involved parties.