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Hans India
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Assam: Eviction drive conducted in Nalbari, 82 bighas cleared
Guwahati: The Assam government on Monday carried out a large-scale eviction drive to clear 82 bighas of occupied Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) land in Bakrikuchi village under Nalbari district's Borkhetry revenue circle. The operation began at dawn with a heavy security deployment, including 500 police personnel, to prevent unrest. No clashes were reported during the demolition of unauthorised structures, officials claimed. District Commissioner Nibedan Das Patowary stated that over 70 per cent of the 300 affected families had voluntarily vacated before the drive, following a June 3 eviction notice. The Gauhati High Court had earlier mandated the clearance of all encroached VGR lands, designated for cattle grazing, across Assam. "Residents cooperated, and the process remained peaceful," said IGP Akhilesh Kumar Singh, who supervised the operation. Twelve bulldozers razed structures on the 82 bighas where houses stood, while the remaining 370 bighas, used for fisheries and agriculture, are under scrutiny for further action. Displaced families, now camped along the village approach road, demanded rehabilitation. The area also houses schools, mosques, and Anganwadi centres. This marks Assam's second major eviction this month after the June 15-16 drive in Goalpara's Hasilabeel, where 667 families were evicted. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that his zero-tolerance policy on encroachments has been successful in deterring fresh occupations. "Evictions will continue. Our biggest achievement is that people now think twice before occupying government land," Sarma said. Over the past four years, the state administration has conducted anti-encroachment operations in every district.
Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Indian Express
Over 90 families evicted, several houses bulldozed in Assam's latest eviction drive
More than 90 families were displaced by an eviction drive in Assam's Nalbari district on Monday, the second such eviction exercise in the state this month. According to Nalbari Deputy Commissioner Nibedan Das Patowary, the eviction was carried out to clear encroachment on 453 bighas of village grazing reserve (VGR) land in the Barkhetri revenue circle. Ahead of the eviction, the district administration had issued prohibitory orders under section 163 of the BNSS in the Bakrikuchi Reserve, disallowing the assembly of more than five people. The order cited a 'likelihood of breach of peace and tranquility' there, and in nearby areas, and the need to prevent attempts to 'thwart the successful completion of the eviction drive'. On Monday morning, 12 bulldozers and over 500 police personnel arrived at the site to carry out the eviction. 'There was no untoward incident. There are 93 families living here, and there were 319 houses and other built structures here. Since this is VGR land, it is a policy of the Revenue Department to clear such government lands. When we told them to vacate the area earlier, they went to the Gauhati High Court, but did not get relief there. So now, we gave them seven days' notice to vacate the area, and most people vacated their homes themselves on Sunday,' DC Patowary told The Indian Express. The affected families are Bengali-origin Muslims. Like in the case of the eviction drive that took place two weeks earlier in Goalpara district, where over 600 families were evicted from a wetland area, the affected families said they had moved to the area after their previous settlement was lost to river erosion. 'We have been living here for 28-30 years. We moved here in the 1980s from other parts of Barkhetri itself, like the Bhanganmari, Kurihamari, and Bhelengimari panchayats after land was lost to erosion. We occupy only around 80 bighas of land and live bare lives here, with most people working as daily labourers on farms,' said Fakar Uddin Ahmed (40), whose home was demolished on Monday. Apprehending an eviction in 2016, residents of the area had approached the Gauhati High Court against it, submitting that they had been in possession of the land since 1981 and that they had settled there because of river erosion. However, on June 18, a Gauhati High Court Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi did not allow an extension of the interim order protecting them from eviction, stating that this is 'in view of the clear stand of the State that the land in question is VGR land'.
Hindustan Times
30-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Eviction drive launched to clear encroached village grazing reserve land in Assam
Nalbari, The Assam government launched an eviction drive on Monday morning to clear encroachments from 82 bighas of village grazing reserve land in Assam's Nalbari district, officials said. Eviction drive launched to clear encroached village grazing reserve land in Assam The eviction drive began at Bakrikuchi village under Borkhetry revenue circle early in the morning amid tight security. No untoward incidents have been reported so far, District Commissioner Nibedan Das Patowary told reporters here. Through a notice, the circle office on June 3 asked the encroachers at VGR to clear the land but the residents approached the Gauhati High Court which ruled that all VGR lands across the state must be cleared. VGR land is designated for the specific purpose of cattle grazing in villages. "The people residing on the encroached land cooperated with the district administration and over 70 per cent of them had moved out with their belongings," Patowary said. Around 300 families had settled on the VGR and they are cooperating with the administration, he said. Around 500 security personnel have been deployed in the area and more have been kept on standby to prevent any untoward incidents, IGP Akhilesh Kumar Singh, who is also camping at the site, said. "The eviction has been peaceful so far and we have not faced any resistance. A total of 452 bighas have been encroached. But people have built houses only on 82 bighas. They use the remaining area for fisheries and agriculture. A report is being prepared and action will be taken accordingly, a circle official said. There are also schools, mosques and Anganwadi centres in the village. Altogether 12 bulldozers have been pressed into service to demolish the unauthorised structures. Many of the encroachers were seen camping with their belongings on the main road leading to the village and they demanded that they should be adequately rehabilitated. This is the second eviction drive in June. The earlier drive was carried out on June 15 and 16, when 667 families in Hasilabeel village in Goalpara district were evicted. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had recently said that eviction drives to clear encroached land will continue. Many eviction drives have been carried out over the last four years, and his government has ensured that the cleared land is not encroached upon again, Sarma said. "We have conducted at least one eviction drive in each district, and our biggest achievement is that now people are afraid to settle on encroached land," Sarma had said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
