Guwahati, Feb 11 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday termed the Supreme Court’s judgment allowing the state to carry out evictions in reserved forest areas after clearance by a specially constituted committee as “landmark”, saying it will streamline anti-encroachment drives.
He said over 1.25 lakh bighas of forest land have been cleared of encroachments, with another 20 bighas still under illegal occupation.
“This is a landmark judgment in the history of our forest department…The state government has won a historic case which gives it the full right to evict in forest land. The apex court even said that if the forest comes under panchayat areas, it cannot be an excuse for not evicting,” Sarma said at a press conference here.
The Supreme Court had on Tuesday allowed the Assam government to constitute a committee of forest and revenue officials to look into unauthorised occupants in the Doyang reserved forest and its adjoining villages in Golaghat district, observing that forests constitute one of the most vital natural resources of the nation.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe said the committee will issue notices to the alleged unauthorised occupants and give them an opportunity to adduce evidence to show that they have the right to occupy the land which is in their possession.
It said that if an unauthorised occupation is found in a reserve forest area, a speaking order shall be passed and served on the person concerned, giving him 15 days’ notice to vacate the unauthorised occupation.
The CM said the petition, which was disposed of by the apex court, was a hurdle for Assam as “evictions were stayed by court orders in some pockets and uncertainty prevailed”.
“The eviction process will be streamlined now,” he added.
Sarma claimed that a total of 1,25,326 bighas of forest land have been cleared of encroachments in the state so far.
Around 25-26 lakh bighas of forest land are still under occupation, but it also includes land in possession of indigenous communities who will be given ‘forest patta’ under relevant laws, he said.
“If we are to exclude the land for which the eligible forest dwellers will get rights, about 20 lakh bighas are still under encroachment,” he added.
The CM said the committee, as directed by the Supreme Court, will be notified by Wednesday evening, which will take forward the evictions as per the judgment. PTI SSG SSG MNB
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