Golaghat (Assam), Jul 30 (PTI) A massive eviction drive to clear encroachments from nearly 1,500 acres of forest land in Assam’s Golaghat district continued for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, officials said.
The eviction drive, once completed, will displace around 1,500 families, mostly from the Muslim community, they added.
The exercise started on Tuesday morning for clearing the encroachments from Rengma Reserve Forest in Uriamghat in Sarupathar sub-division along the Assam-Nagaland border.
Although the government claimed there were encroachments in the area, senior officials said there were houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), water connection under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), government schools under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), sub-health centres under National Health Mission (NHM) and electricity connections to almost every household, besides markets, mosques, madrassas and churches.
“Today, the eviction drive started at Sonari Beel and Pithaghat area around 9 am. So far, everything is progressing as per plans and peacefully,” a district administration official told PTI.
On Tuesday, the eviction drive started from the main market area in Bidyapur area, followed by residential locations. During the drive, around 120 commercial structures spread over approximately 4.2 hectares of forest land were demolished.
The operation was led by the Forest Department with active support from the Golaghat district administration and Assam Police in close coordination with the Nagaland government and the Nagaland Police.
To ensure a smooth and peaceful execution of the operation, extensive security arrangements were put in place with the involvement of CRPF.
Commenting on the drive, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the government is on a mission to “reclaim” what rightfully belongs to “us”.
“Our forests, our lands, our Satras, our agriculture fields; we are going ALL OUT to ensure that only legitimate Indian citizens enjoy the joy of being in Assam. Rengma Reserve Forest – now ENCROACHMENT FREE,” he said in a post on X.
The district administration official claimed that around 10,500 to 11,000 bighas of land were encroached upon by the people.
“Around 2,000 families were living in those areas. Out of them, notices were served to about 1,500 families, who illegally settled there. The remaining families are forest dwellers and have certificates from the Forest Rights Committee (FRC),” he added.
The families, whose houses are being demolished, belong to the Muslim community, while those having FRC certificates are from Bodo, Nepali, Manipuri and other communities, the official said.
“Around 80 per cent of the families who had received notices have already vacated their illegal settlements in the last few days. We are only demolishing their homes,” he added.
Speaking to PTI, the affected families, however, questioned the rationale behind the eviction drive and claimed that they were brought to this location by the earlier governments to protect the area from “invasion” from Nagaland.
They claimed that most of the alleged encroachers’ previous generation was settled in the forest by the Janata Party government, headed by ex-CM Golap Borbora, in 1978-79 and the first AGP government, which came to power in 1985.
The government-run Bidyapur LP School was established in 1978, according to the signboard on the school building.
All the schools in the alleged encroached area have been converted into forest camps before the start of the eviction drive.
Notably, the assembly was informed in March that almost 83,000 hectares of land belonging to Assam were being occupied by four neighbouring states, and Nagaland captured the highest amount of land in Assam — 59,490.21 hectares.
Ali Kazi, who was affected by the eviction drive, told PTI that they have been cooperating with the authorities in the drive.
“We only requested the government to settle us somewhere else, but they refused. We now have no option but to stay in tents. We have not been given even drinking water, forget about any food. It’s very inhuman,” he added.
The encroached area, as claimed by the government, was provided with electricity supply, schools, JJM water connections, health centres, ration cards and houses under PM Awas Yojana, among other benefits from the state.
When asked about these government infrastructure, a senior official of the Forest Department accepted that such facilities were provided by the authorities, and some of installations came up even after 2016 when the BJP came to power for the first time in Assam.
“I do not know why these were sanctioned and established in this area. It was before I came here,” he added.
There were also mosques and madrassas of the Muslim community, while churches were set up by the Bodo people.
For carrying out the eviction drive across 12 villages, the authorities have divided the entire area under nine zones. Notices were served by the Forest Department to the encroachers, giving them seven days of time to vacate the place.
Assam Police stationed a senior officer from the headquarters in Golaghat to oversee the law and order situation in the course of the eviction drive.
The Nagaland government also issued an advisory to the bordering districts to keep a strict vigil so that displaced people cannot cross into the state. PTI TR COR BDC TR ACD
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