Assam govt launches major eviction drive in Golaghat to clear encroached forest land
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Guwahati: Assam government has started the state's biggest eviction drive in Golaghat. The move will clear over 3,600 acres of land in the Rengma Reserve Forest at Uriamghat, bordering Nagaland.A senior government officer who does not want to be named told ET, 'The move will affect 1,500 families. Recently several families staying in the area had vacated the area after receiving notice of eviction. Around 500 families are forest dwellers and have certificates from the Forest Rights Committee (FRC)," the official said.Over 1500 security forces are deployed in the area. On July 25 Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Uriamghat in Golaghat district to inspect areas that have been encroached upon.Sarma stated that thousands of bighas of land in the area had been unlawfully occupied. He observed that certain families had encroached upon as much as 300 to 400 bighas, using the land for various economic activities.Emphasising that the government could not remain indifferent to such developments, he affirmed that appropriate action would follow, urging the public to cooperate with the measures the State Government intends to implement.He had informed that nearly 70% of the encroachers had already vacated the land voluntarily. He added that those who had settled on the land came from various districts in Assam - such as Cachar, Sribhumi, Dhubri, Barpeta, Hojai, Nagaon, and Morigaon - as well as from other states including West Bengal and Bihar.He noted reports indicating that Uriamghat had emerged as a centre for criminal activity owing to these encroachments. He expressed confidence that peace could be restored to the area with public cooperation once the land is vacated.He noted that measures would be taken to protect the reclaimed land and that the Forest Department could initiate reforestation and related activities. He affirmed that efforts would be directed towards ensuring residents benefit from these interventions. He also disclosed that two individuals suspected of being key figures behind the encroachments have already been arrested. Furthermore, he stated that the government maintains a comprehensive list of encroached areas across the state that are to be addressed.Militant outfit NSCN/GPRN (Niki) had alleged that the recent evictions carried out by the Assam government are part of a deliberate strategy to seize Naga ancestral lands, branding them with the 'misleading' label of Disturbed Area Belt.In a statement, the group said the evictions were 'neither a surprise nor unexpected' but a carefully orchestrated effort rooted in colonial-era boundaries imposed by the British without consultation with the Naga people. The outfit further accused successive Assam governments of settling illegal Bangladeshi immigrants (IBIs) in disputed border areas as a covert means of territorial expansion.Sarma recently said in the last four years 160 square km of land has been cleared from eviction and nearly 50,000 people are evicted. 'Till now we have managed to clear 40 percent of the forest land from encroachment. Area under encroachment is over 63 lakh bighas and forest is 29 lakh bighas.'
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