Assam district heads asked to assess extent of forestland encroachment
He said the State government would try to evict all people, barring tribals and forest dwellers covered by the Forest Rights Act, from the jungles.
'Tribal people living in forest areas from before 2005 can continue to stay, but we will evict others not eligible to live in forests,' he told journalists in Guwahati.
The Chief Minister said the level of encroachment, encouraged by some previous regimes, had been high and beyond imagination. 'The exercise will take at least 10 years to complete even if we carry out one eviction drive per month,' he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government undertook the first eviction drive, following a Gauhati High Court order, in 2016. The second drive was carried out in 2021.
Resumed in June, the eviction drive in several districts, including Dhubri, Goalpara, Golaghat and Lakhimpur, has left more than 50,000 people, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims, homeless.
Mr. Sarma, however, said evicting encroachers alone would not solve the problem of people occupying government lands illegally. 'Today, we carried out an eviction drive in Orang [National Park] after some people tried to occupy vacated land,' he said.
He said the government planned to lease out vacant spaces to cooperatives of indigenous people at a token rate of ₹1 or ₹2 to utilise them for agricultural purposes and check encroachments. 'We will discuss this plan at a convention of grassroots leaders to be attended by Home Minister Amit Shah on August 29,' he said.
'Witch-hunt by Chidambaram'
Referring to the acquittal of all seven accused in the Malegaon blast case by a special court on Thursday, the Chief Minister said the verdict exposed the conspiracy hatched by the Congress to defame the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Hindu society.
Accusing former Home Minister P. Chidambaram of targeting RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, he said the court's verdict reaffirmed the Congress's conspiracy that the people knew about at that time.
'The people should now grill Mr. Chidambaram for trying to link Hindu society with terror,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
14 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Decode Politics: Why Fadnavis govt is granting Sindhi refugees land titles
In a significant step towards aiding displaced Sindhi families, the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra has announced it will issue property titles to five lakh such families residing in 35 cities across the state under the 'Special Abhay Yojana 2025'. The decision, part of the BJP's poll pledges, comes at a time when the state government has launched an intense drive against 'illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants' across the state. Behind this outreach is a BJP-RSS push to bring Sindhis, who were forced to migrate from Sindh in Pakistan after Partition in 1947, under the larger Hindu umbrella. While announcing the scheme Tuesday, state Revenue Minister and Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, 'The Special Abhay Scheme will be implemented, under which residential and commercial land in 30 colonies of the Sindhi community, displaced after the 1947 Partition, will be converted to free-hold (Occupancy Class-I) according to the law.' Under the scheme, all properties in possession of Sindhis or registered with a local self-government body as of December 31, 2024 will receive ownership titles at concessional rates. The land will be converted to free-hold upon payment of a premium. 'This scheme will serve as a milestone for the welfare of the Sindhi community and reflects the government's citizen-centric policies,' Bawankule said. This move to introduce a special policy for displaced Sindhi families fulfils a promise made by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, Bawankule added. The scheme will provide legal ownership rights to homes and establishments in 30 colonies across cities such as Nagpur, Jalgaon, and Mumbai. In Ulhasnagar, which has been excluded from this scheme and has the state's largest Sindhi population, a separate policy will be introduced. The Revenue Department will implement the scheme, delivering justice to the Sindhi community, Bawankule said. Sindhis, who have been living in their colonies for several decades, had long been demanding that the government legally acknowledge their settlements. The issue has been discussed in the state Legislative Assembly and Council on several occasions in the past. In the aftermath of the Partition, a large number of Sindhi Hindus fled the Sindh region. At the time, it was estimated that 10 lakh Sindhi families migrated to India as refugees. To address their concerns, refugee colonies were set up by the government across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka and other states. These settlements became homes for the refugees who left behind in Pakistan their possessions and assets. Reeling in poverty, resettled Sindhis in India were forced to rebuild their lives from scratch. As per the 2011 Census, there are 28 lakh Sindhi language speakers in India. This figure excludes ethnic Sindhis who don't speak the language and some Kutchis who do not identify as ethnic Sindhis. At 7.2 lakh, Maharashtra has the second-largest Sindhi-speaking population after Gujarat at 11.8 lakh. The timing of the scheme is crucial as the state government wants to convey a strong message to the Sindhi community in Maharashtra. By granting property rights to Sindhu refugees, the BJP also wants to reinforce its commitment to Hindus. Secondly, the Mahayuti government also wants to make a distinction between Hindu Sindhi refugees and other migrants. While the drive against illegal Bangladeshis in the state has been debated since the 1990s, the Fadnavis government has decided to push it for the first time. 'Illegal Bangladeshis manage to get fake birth certificates and Aadhaar cards. They are being provided these documents by some local authorities and enjoy patronage of non-BJP politicians who want to use them for vote bank politics,' said state BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. The state government has directed district collectors to carry out anti-illegal immigration drives. It has also urged them to cancel fake birth certificates and other such documents, and submit them to the state revenue and health departments. Bawankule said, 'The Maharashtra government has decided to crack down against illegal Bangladeshis/Rohingyas. Through its special drive, the government will cancel 42 lakh fake certificates issued to illegal Bangladeshis till August 15.' He claimed that this figure may rise. The Opposition, while welcoming the government's decision to resettle Sindhi refugees, cautioned against the 'harassment' of the Muslim community in the name of an anti-illegal immigration drive. State Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal said, 'The BJP's politics is to divide and rule in the name of religion, caste and community. We are not against government action against illegal Bangladeshi migrants. But if it is used as a tool to harass Indian Muslim citizens, which is not acceptable.'
Hans India
14 minutes ago
- Hans India
Previous govt neglected farmers' welfare, alleges Nimmala
Rajamahendravaram: Water resources minister Dr Nimmala Rama Naidu accused the previous YSRCP government of reducing crucial input subsidies from Rs 20,000 to Rs 16,000 and failing to clear Rs 1,600 crore in pending dues to farmers. He said the neglect of farmer welfare between 2019 and 2024 has now been reversed with the present government's renewed focus on agricultural support. Launching the first phase of the Annadata Sukhibhava-PM Kisan 2025–26 scheme at Kovvur on Saturday, the minister reaffirmed that the government is fulfilling its election promise by extending Rs 20,000 investment assistance to every eligible farmer in three installments. He stated that Rs 7,000 each has already been credited into the bank accounts of 1.14 lakh farmers in East Godavari district, amounting to Rs 79 crore. In Kovvur constituency alone, 14,884 farmers received cheques worth Rs 10.41 crore. He pointed out that under the previous TDP-led regime from 2014 to 2019, several beneficial schemes were initiated, such as soil health cards and farm equipment distribution, but were later ignored by the succeeding government. Despite prevailing economic challenges, the current administration is committed to comprehensive farmer welfare, he asserted. Rama Naidu also announced that tenant farmers will receive their share of support in the second and third phases, due in October and January. Further, Rs 350 crore has been sanctioned for repairs to major irrigation projects, and a new lift irrigation scheme will be implemented to address flooding and water access issues in Dowleswaram and Daravaram areas. Kovvur MLA Muppidi Venkateswara Rao, who presided over the event, clarified that the Rs 20,000 support package includes Rs 6,000 under the PM-Kisan scheme and Rs 14,000 from the state government. He reiterated that the current government has cleared all pending farmer dues left unpaid by the previous regime. District collector P Prashanthi an others were present.
Hans India
44 minutes ago
- Hans India
Will expose BRS, BJP conspiracy against Telangana: Bhatti
Kollapur (Nagarkurnool): Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka issued a strong warning against the conspiracies being hatched against Telangana in the name of Banakacherla and Polavaram projects. He alleged that BRS, BJP, and TDP have colluded and conspired to merge seven mandals of Khammam district into Andhra Pradesh, which was attempted through an ordinance. During the public meeting held in Kollapur constituency on the occasion of foundation stone laying for new substations, distribution of ration cards, and Indiramma housing pattas on Saturday, the Deputy Chief Minister questioned the silence of the BRS government for ten years, saying their inaction brought Banakacherla to the forefront. He said it was only when Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy visited Delhi that the Banakacherla proposal was halted. Bhatti said that AP Minister Lokesh's statements about Telangana wasting water and building Banakacherla with such water are misleading. He clarified that water flowing downstream is only because Telangana's upstream projects were left incomplete, and only after completing all its rights and needs will Telangana allow any further discussion on Banakacherla. 'The BRS came to power promising water, funds, and jobs. But in ten years, the previous government failed to complete any major projects on Godavari or Krishna rivers. It was Congress governments that initiated and completed projects like Jurala, Nettempadu, Koilsagar, Kalwakurthy, Srisailam, and Nagarjunasagar on the Krishna river,' he said. Bhatti recalled how the Congress had proposed the Pranahita-Chevella project at 152m height to benefit upland areas. Instead, former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao went for the Kaleshwaram project at only 100m height, which ultimately collapsed despite spending ₹1.2 lakh crores, whereas Pranahita-Chevella could have been completed for Rs 38,000 crore. He accused the previous BRS government of redesigning projects only to loot the state treasury, and not delivering even a single acre of irrigation. The Deputy Chief Minister said the state witnessed fear and suppression, with dissenting voices silenced and people arrested arbitrarily during BRS rule. 'Congress has brought back democracy in Telangana and is working for the people,' he added.
