GUWAHATI, Aug 8: The Assam government on Friday evicted 146 families who had allegedly encroached on 132 acres (400 bighas) of forest land in Golaghat district, officials said.
The eviction drive was carried out at Negheribil in Merapani, located along the Assam-Nagaland border, as part of the ongoing drive to reclaim encroached land in the Doyang Reserve Forest, Special Chief Secretary MK Yadav said.
The drive led to the clearance of 146 households comprising numerous illegal structures, spread across more than 50 hectares of protected forest land, he said.
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It was conducted by following due legal process with prior notices issued to the encroachers.
Yadav said the Nagaland government and police had extended active support and cooperation throughout the eviction process, which contributed significantly to the smooth conduct of the drive.
The remaining encroachments in Uriamghat and Negheribil will be removed from August 16, he said.
The Gauhati High Court has directed that those facing eviction from Doyang and South Nambar forests in Golaghat district to submit proof of land rights by August 14 or vacate the land.
A plantation drive will be launched in Uriamghat from Saturday with similar initiatives to follow in other recently cleared areas within the reserve forest, Yadav said.
This was the ninth eviction drive carried out in the state since June. The largest of these had cleared 1,500 hectares of forest land and displaced around 1,500 families at Uriamghat in Golaghat district last week.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had claimed over 160 sq km of land has been cleared of encroachments since his government took over in May 2021, affecting affecting more than 50,000 people.
The CM had also said 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 drives are from the Bengali-speaking Muslims community 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 were washed away due to erosion by the River Brahmaputra. (PTI)
