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Time of India

Eviction drive clears 140ha Paikan forest land; razes 2,500 structures

Guwahati: Days after evictions in Dhubri, the Goalpara district administration, with the help of forest and police officials, carried out a massive eviction drive on Saturday in settlements by minority community within Paikan Reserve Forest in lower Assam. The forest adjoining Meghalaya's hills, which got the recognition of a reserve forest in 1982, has gone through widespread encroachment over the past 25 years. Authorities cleared 140 hectares of forest land and evicted 1,080 families who had settled there. Most residents had vacated after receiving final notices to leave by July 10. The authorities have not provided alternative accommodations for these evicted families. "The eviction drive has been completed in the entire 140 hectares of forest land in Paikan Reserve Forest today," Goalpara DFO Tejas Mariswamy told TOI on Saturday. The region is known for frequent human-elephant conflicts. Forest officials said encroachment and unauthorised plantations within the reserve forest have contributed to these issues. "In the Goalpara landscape, during peak times, we can estimate the movement of 70 to 100 elephants. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo They continue to move from one forest to another from Goalpara to Meghalaya," Mariswamy said. "Records indicate that encroachment mostly began about 25 years ago. The settlers were from lower Assam districts like South Salmara Mankachar and Barpeta, particularly from riverine char areas. They were originally from east Pakistan," he said. Paikan Reserve Forest covers about 710 hectares. Officials said while human habitation has been removed following Saturday's operation, some plantation encroachments remain. "Removing human settlements was a bigger challenge," Mariswamy added. Evicted families said their settlements were not officially recognised as revenue villages but alleged authorities had earlier permitted schools and water supply schemes. Eight mosques were built in the area; most were demolished during the eviction. In total, 945 pucca and 1,620 kutcha houses were razed. Meanwhile, the All Assam Minorities Students' Union (Aamsu) organised protests across the state, condemning the demolition of houses, mosques, and other structures. Aamsu-led protests flared in Bilasipara, Nagaon, and other parts of the state, with clashes reported in some places. Police prevented six AIUDF MLAs and an AAP delegation from accessing the eviction site. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said about eight lakh bighas of govt land are under encroachment. "We do not carry out eviction drives for joy. There are Supreme Court and high court directives that forest, VGR, PGR lands should not be encroached," Sarma said. He questioned why the landless don't seek land in home districts and suggested probing if such settlements aimed to alter local demographics. "There should be a study to ascertain whether these people go to other districts due to poor economic conditions or were settled by someone else to turn Assamese people into a minority," Sarma said.