is a letter dated 22 April 2024 (issued on the same date as the affidavit) by the Member Secretary of the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, Assam to the Member Secretary, SEIAA, Assam in the following terms : “Inviting reference to the subject cited above, this is to inform you that the matter has been referred by the Special Chief5 Secretary (Environment & Forest), Govt. of Assam, inviting comments / opinion as to the requirement of prior Environmental Clearance (EC) for clearance of Tea bushes, uprooting /removal of shade / cover crops in respect of Doloo Tea Estate. On careful perusal of the averments made in the instant petition, it is to be stated herein that cultivation of Tea in Assam is falling within the category of Special Cultivation for which the Govt. of Assam / District Commissioner allot land within the ambit of Rules under the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886. It is pertinent to point out here that in a tea garden, tea bushes and shade trees are