HT Bureau
DIPHU, July 11: The Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) on Tuesday evicted 247 illegal settlements from Langkaijan in the inter-district border with Hojai.
The eviction drive was carried out by the Forest and Land & Revenue Departments, KAAC with the help of police personnel.
The CEM of KAAC, Tuliram Ronghang said that the eviction drive was carried out after getting the final verdict from the Gauhati High Court.
“The eviction drive was carried out after getting the final verdict from the Gauhati High Court,” said Ronghang. “There were 1,600 families of encroachers settled in Langkaijan, out of which 1,000 families had filed a PIL case in the Gauhati High Court.”
Ronghang said that after getting the final verdict from the High Court, a joint eviction drive was carried out in 2019.
“The fresh eviction drive was carried out as there was a new illegal settlement in the area,” he said. “15 houses in Ambari were left out of the eviction drive as the inter-district boundary demarcation was not clear.”
Ronghang said that a joint survey team of the Land & Revenue Departments of KAAC and Hojai will be created to demarcate the exact boundary.
“If the 15 houses are found to be within the jurisdiction of Karbi Anglong, they will be evicted immediately,” he said.
Ronghang said that the KAAC is always trying to keep the 10,434 sq. km of both Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong intact and free from encroachers.
“After getting the final verdict from the Gauhati High Court in favour of KAAC, eviction will be carried out immediately in Khan Basti and Klurdung,” he said.
The eviction drive was monitored by the executive member (EM) of KAAC, Amarsing Tisso and Madhuram Lekthe; MLA Dorsing Ronghang and local Member of Autonomous Council, Lumbajong Johnny Timung.
The SP, Karbi Anglong, Sanjiv Kumar Saikia and additional deputy commissioner (ADC), Tingku Rani Bora, ACS and Chandan Borgohain were also present.
The eviction drive was met with resistance from some of the encroachers, who tried to prevent the authorities from demolishing their homes. However, the police were able to disperse the crowd and the eviction drive was completed successfully.
The eviction of the illegal settlements is a major victory for the KAAC and the state government in their efforts to protect the land and resources of Karbi Anglong. It is also a clear message to those who try to encroach on land illegally that they will not be tolerated.