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Hans India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Gauhati HC directs those facing eviction from Golaghat forests to submit land rights proof
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has directed those facing eviction from Doyang and South Nambar forests in Assam's Golaghat district to submit within 10 days proof of land rights or vacate the land. Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar, hearing the petition of 74 people claiming they have been in possession of the land since the time of their forefathers, also directed the state advocate general to submit an affidavit by a forest officer stating that the appellants have been residing in the reserved forest area without any entitlement and are liable to be evicted forthwith. The petitioners challenged the issuance of notices by the district authority asking them to vacate their land within seven days, alleging that such action of the respondents is in contravention of certain provisions of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886 and the Assam Land Policy, 2019 as also the guidelines of the Supreme Court's order of December 13, 2024. A group of 59 people and another group of about 15 people had filed two separate petitions and both the appeals were taken up together for hearing since the issues involved in these appeals are identical and related to the eviction of encroachers from reserved forest areas. The claim of the petitioners was that they have been in possession of the land in question since the time of their forefathers and such notices have been served upon them without any specific demarcation as to whether the land in question, said to be in illegal occupation of the appellants/writ petitioners, is a revenue or forest land. The contention of the appellants in these appeals is that no procedure has been followed for their eviction from their houses, which had been allocated to them under some scheme of the government in the past. The court observed that no documentary evidence had been submitted to support these claims. The state advocate general, however, contested the petitioners' submission and stated that the appellants are encroachers in the reserve forests, namely, Doyang and South Nambar reserve forests. He submitted that after the notification converting the forests to reserved forests and its proclamation by the officer concerned, any non-forest activity in reserved forests would be a criminal offence for which a penalty has been provided under the Assam Forest Regulation, 1891. He further submitted that approximately 29 lakh bighas (around 9.5 lakh acres) of land in the reserved forests in the entire state have been occupied by encroachers and with the drive undertaken by the government for removing such encroachers, more than one lakh bighas (around 33,000 acres) of land has been cleared of encroachment. The advocate general contended that none of the appellants are flood-affected or landless, or forest dwellers, but are squatters and encroachers who, by their continuous illegal activities, have been damaging the natural habitat of wildlife. The Doyang and Nambar reserve forests had been notified about 100 years ago and never in the past, the appellants had made any claim for settlement, or for their right for 'jhum' or shifting cultivation, or else it would have been decided by the forest authorities, he said. He also submitted that the forest area in question has been demarcated and only such persons, who are found to be residing in such demarcated areas, have been issued notices. The chief justice observed that, barring a statement by the petitioners that they have been residing in the houses constructed over the years, which do not fall in the reserved forest area, no documentary proof for such a statement has been given. "However, in order to satisfy ourselves that the appellants are not forcefully and illegally evicted from their place of residence, we permit them to bring on record any document to establish the claim of their having been allocated land in the reserved forest area for the construction of houses," the chief justice observed. The court extended the time given to them to clear the forest area or submit documentary evidence of their land rights by another 10 days, to be counted from August 5, the day the order was passed, and till then no coercive steps shall be taken against the appellants. The court fixed the next date of hearing on August 14. The state government has carried out seven eviction drives since June this year, affecting more than 50,000 people and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier said that all unauthorised occupation of forest land, VGR (Village Grazing Reserve), PGR (Professional Grazing Reserve), Satras, Namghars, and other public areas would be cleared in a phased manner. Most of the people displaced due to the eviction drive are Bengali-speaking Muslim communities who claim that their ancestors had moved and settled in the areas where drives were carried out after their land in the 'Char' or riverine areas got washed away due to erosion by the Brahmaputra.
Hindustan Times
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Gauhati HC directs those facing eviction from Golaghat forests to submit land rights proof
Guwahati, The Gauhati High Court has directed those facing eviction from Doyang and South Nambar forests in Assam's Golaghat district to submit within 10 days proof of land rights or vacate the land. Gauhati HC directs those facing eviction from Golaghat forests to submit land rights proof Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar, hearing the petition of 74 people claiming they have been in possession of the land since the time of their forefathers, also directed the state advocate general to submit an affidavit by a forest officer stating that the appellants have been residing in the reserved forest area without any entitlement and are liable to be evicted forthwith. The petitioners challenged the issuance of notices by the district authority asking them to vacate their land within seven days, alleging that such action of the respondents is in contravention of certain provisions of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886 and the Assam Land Policy, 2019 as also the guidelines of the Supreme Court's order of December 13, 2024. A group of 59 people and another group of about 15 people had filed two separate petitions and both the appeals were taken up together for hearing since the issues involved in these appeals are identical and related to the eviction of encroachers from reserved forest areas. The claim of the petitioners was that they have been in possession of the land in question since the time of their forefathers and such notices have been served upon them without any specific demarcation as to whether the land in question, said to be in illegal occupation of the appellants/writ petitioners, is a revenue or forest land. The contention of the appellants in these appeals is that no procedure has been followed for their eviction from their houses, which had been allocated to them under some scheme of the government in the past. The court observed that no documentary evidence had been submitted to support these claims. The state advocate general, however, contested the petitioners' submission and stated that the appellants are encroachers in the reserve forests, namely, Doyang and South Nambar reserve forests. He submitted that after the notification converting the forests to reserved forests and its proclamation by the officer concerned, any non-forest activity in reserved forests would be a criminal offence for which a penalty has been provided under the Assam Forest Regulation, 1891. He further submitted that approximately 29 lakh bighas of land in the reserved forests in the entire state have been occupied by encroachers and with the drive undertaken by the government for removing such encroachers, more than one lakh bighas of land has been cleared of encroachment. The advocate general contended that none of the appellants are flood-affected or landless, or forest dwellers, but are squatters and encroachers who, by their continuous illegal activities, have been damaging the natural habitat of wildlife. The Doyang and Nambar reserve forests had been notified about 100 years ago and never in the past, the appellants had made any claim for settlement, or for their right for 'jhum' or shifting cultivation, or else it would have been decided by the forest authorities, he said. He also submitted that the forest area in question has been demarcated and only such persons, who are found to be residing in such demarcated areas, have been issued notices. The chief justice observed that, barring a statement by the petitioners that they have been residing in the houses constructed over the years, which do not fall in the reserved forest area, no documentary proof for such a statement has been given. "However, in order to satisfy ourselves that the appellants are not forcefully and illegally evicted from their place of residence, we permit them to bring on record any document to establish the claim of their having been allocated land in the reserved forest area for the construction of houses," the chief justice observed. The court extended the time given to them to clear the forest area or submit documentary evidence of their land rights by another 10 days, to be counted from August 5, the day the order was passed, and till then no coercive steps shall be taken against the appellants. The court fixed the next date of hearing on August 14. The state government has carried out seven eviction drives since June this year, affecting more than 50,000 people and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier said that all unauthorised occupation of forest land, VGR , PGR , Satras, Namghars, and other public areas would be cleared in a phased manner. Most of the people displaced due to the eviction drive are Bengali-speaking Muslim communities who claim that their ancestors had moved and settled in the areas where drives were carried out after their land in the 'Char' or riverine areas got washed away due to erosion by the Brahmaputra. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Time of India
27-07-2025
- Time of India
Place of worship in Dima Hasao razed during eviction drive
1 2 Silchar: The Dima Hasao district administration on Saturday demolished a place of worship in Umrangso's Tin Kilo area as part of an eviction drive. Officials said the structure was illegally constructed on reserved forest land. The demolition was carried out by bulldozers in the presence of district officials and forest department personnel. The eviction drive was conducted under the provisions of the Assam Forest Regulation, 1891, specifically sections 24, 25 and 72(C), which prohibit any occupation or construction within forest areas. The drive was also supported by a Gauhati high court judgment, dated September 5, 2022, directing the state to clear encroachments from forest lands, including reserved forests, following a PIL concerned with human-elephant conflict and forest destruction in Goalpara district due to encroachment. "The land belongs to the forest department. The place of worship was constructed without any legal sanction. It has now been cleared," a senior official overseeing the operation said, confirming that no other houses in the vicinity had been affected during the drive. The demolition has drawn sharp reactions from various sections of the community and rights groups. While state records indicate that over 3,300 families have been removed during recent eviction drives in the state, critics argue that these developments have communal overtones. Conversely, the state govt has maintained that these drives are strictly aimed at curbing illegal encroachment and ensuring the protection of ecologically sensitive forest land.
Time of India
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Eviction drives conducted as per law: CM
1 2 3 Guwahati: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the ongoing eviction drives in the state are conducted in a well-thought-out, legally sound, and systematic manner — not based on emotions. Sarma made this statement after visiting Uriamghat in Golaghat district for a ground assessment of the extent of encroachment of Rengma reserve forest. Almost the entire area of the reserve forest has been under illegal occupation, primarily used for agricultural purposes like betel nut cultivation. The forest department has served eviction notices to the encroachers, asking them to vacate the land and 70% of the people have already left the place. "We have a long list (of encroached areas). But, before carrying out any eviction drives, the situation in each location needs to be examined legally. We cannot carry out eviction emotionally. Wherever we know that we are legally sound, we are taking actions to reclaim encroached forests lands, grazing grounds and land belonging to satras," Sarma said. Evictions are carried out under the provisions of Assam Forest Regulation, 1891 and the amended law of 1995. These laws provide clear authority and procedures for identifying, penalising, and removing illegal encroachments. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Mini House for 60 sqm for Seniors with Toilet and Bath (Price May Surprise You) Pre Fabricated Homes | Search Ads Search Now Undo Before eviction, thorough surveys and verifications are conducted to ascertain the actual status of the land and occupants. Forest officials, legal experts, police, and district authorities collaborate to ensure decisions are based on sound evidence. The illegal occupants then receive formal eviction notices well ahead of any action. The eviction drives are undertaken pursuant to directives from courts, which reinforce adherence to due process. "When we went through the list of encroachers (at Uriamghat), we found that these people are not just from within the state like Cachar, Sribhumi, Dhubri, Hojai, Nagaon, Morigaon, but there are people even from Bihar," Sarma said. "They said they are from Bihar, but they could be from across the border. So, we will take their names, addresses and other details and share it with the authorities of the place they claim to have come from for verification," Sarma added. He disclosed that two individuals suspected of being key figures behind the encroachments have been arrested.
Scroll.in
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Assam: Homes of 1,080 families bulldozed in Goalpara eviction drive
Authorities in Assam's Goalpara district on Saturday cleared 140 hectares of land in the Paikan Reserve Forest, displacing 1,080 families, most of whom are Muslims of Bengali origin, officials told Scroll. This was the second major eviction drive in the district. On June 16, the authorities demolished homes of 690 families in Hasilabeel, a wetland, near Goalpara town. At least five eviction drives have been carried out in four districts of Assam in the past month, which displaced nearly 3,500 families. Goalpara Divisional Forest Officer Tejas Mariswamy told Scroll that 2,700 structures were demolished on Saturday. 'The land is part of the Paikan Reserve Forest of the Krishnai Range,' Mariswamy said. Mizanur Rahman, a 28-year-old resident of Bidyapara revenue village, lost his homes during the eviction drive. He and eight members of his family have nowhere to go, Rahman said. 'All of the three houses including the pacca house were razed today…we don't have land anywhere else,' he said. 'People have been living here before it was declared a reserved forest,' said Rahman. 'It is a revenue village.' The Assam government had proposed to constitute Paikan as a reserve forest in 1959. It was declared a reserve forest in 1982. In 2022, the Goalpara Lawyers Association sent a memorandum to the state government and forest department saying that the forest rights and claims of several persons over the land in the area had not been settled. The association had asked 'for compliance of the mandatory provisions' under 1891 Assam Forest Regulation as decided in October 1959, before the evictions take place in the protected forest areas. Jiten Das, the president of the district lawyers' association, and Wazed Ali, the secretary of the body, said that in the past 40 years, 472 villages of Goalpara district had been washed away because of erosion caused by the Brahmaputra river. As a result, they said, thousands of people had become homeless and landless. 'Many of these people, having found no alternative for their survival, took shelter in the PRF land, erecting a shed over their head,' they added. A large number of security personnel had been deployed for patrolling in the areas in the past few days. District officials had said that the majority of the people living in the area had already dismantled their homes and shifted out before the eviction drive took place. Deputy Commissioner Khanindra Choudhury told Scroll that the evictions were carried out peacefully as more than 1,000 police personnel had been deployed. About 40 bulldozers were used, he said. Last week in Dhubri district, where an eviction drive led to the demolition of the homes of 1,400 Bengali-origin Muslim families, the authorities had allocated land for the rehabilitation of the affected persons. The administration had also earmarked Rs 50,000 for one-time relief for residents to transport their belongings. Ninety-three families of Bengali-origin Muslims were evicted on June 30 in Assam's Nalbari district during an anti-encroachment drive on nearly 150 acres of village grazing reserve land in the Barkhetri revenue circle. On July 3, about 220 families were evicted during an anti-encroachment drive in upper Assam's Lakhimpur district. The district authorities said that the families were living on 77 acres of land at four locations, including three village grazing reserves. Between 2016 and August 2024, more than 10,620 families – the majority of them Muslim – have been evicted from government land, according to data provided by the state revenue and disaster management department.
