Survey for ‘non-indegenous' people residing on forest land in Guwahati
The city is home to 12 reserve forests, predominantly located in hill areas, which has a combined land area of 28,380 hectares. As of March 2024, approximately 4,107 hectares of this forest land are reported to be under encroachment. The current survey is specifically targeting these encroached forest lands, where authorities contend that large swathes have been unlawfully occupied by settlers, leading to disruptions in the city's social fabric and environmental sustainability.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma strongly emphasized that the survey will be strictly limited to non-indigenous people residing on forest land, who, according to the govt, have disrupted the state's demographic balance. He said the exercise was not related to any religion or ethnicity, but was solely focused on verifying whether these settlers meet the three-generation residency criterion, as stipulated by the Forest Rights Act.
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"It is not about religion or ethnicity, but about protecting Assam's indigenous population from demographic distortion caused by illegal encroachments," Sarma said. He further said, "The survey is strictly limited to non-indigenous people, who disrupt the demography of the state. It will ascertain whether they have been residing there for three generations."
The CM further said indigenous people will receive their land documents under the third edition of the 'Basundhara' scheme and that the govt had no plans to evict them.
Sarma also clarified that the survey will be conducted exclusively on forest land and not on revenue land.A key aspect of the survey involves verifying whether these residents have been living on the land for three generations or more, roughly equivalent to 75 years.
This benchmark is derived from the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights Act) 2006. This Act is designed to protect the rights of two categories of forest dwellers: those belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST) and those classified as 'other traditional forest dwellers.'
To qualify as an 'other traditional forest dweller,' a resident must demonstrate continuous habitation in the forest for at least three generations.
Officials indicated that while the hills of Guwahati are traditionally home to many ST communities, a significant number of non-ST settlers have also established themselves in these forest areas. This group reportedly includes a vast number of non-indigenous migrants who are considered single-generation settlers.
The govt asserted that Assam's indigenous communities have long borne the brunt of unchecked illegal occupation, with outsiders allegedly altering population dynamics and exploiting forest lands, contributing to environmental degradation and social tensions. This survey is presented as a direct response, an unequivocal declaration that the state will no longer tolerate demographic engineering or land grabbing.
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