HT Correspondent
MARGHERITA, July 15: A team from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), led by Central Committee member Balindra Saikia and State Committee member Purna Kakoty, conducted a field visit to the Tirap Tribal Belt under the 83rd Margherita Assembly constituency in Tinsukia district on Tuesday to assess alleged encroachments on ancestral land belonging to the indigenous Singpho community.
The team met with Kotha Sema Gam village chief King Sengam Singpho and his family to discuss the issue.
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They said nearly 5,000 bighas of land under the chief’s stewardship have come under sustained encroachment by non-tribal settlers, with the community recently preventing an attempt to occupy an additional 32 bighas.
Despite the state government’s stated commitment to protecting the jati, mati and bheti (identity, land and foundation) of indigenous people, the Singpho community continues to face threats to their land, the CPI(ML) leaders said.
Saikia criticised the state’s eviction policy, saying that while eviction drives have been carried out in other tribal belts and blocks, the Tirap Tribal Belt has been neglected.
He also referred to allegations involving Margherita MLA Bhaskar Sharma, claiming that a purported letter written by Sharma to chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma could indicate the MLA’s role in facilitating the encroachments.
“The indifference to the plight of the Singpho community is deeply concerning,” Saikia said, demanding that the BJP-led government uphold its promises and act to protect indigenous land rights.
The CPI(ML) team called for immediate legal safeguards for tribal belts and blocks, a full investigation into land encroachments in the Tirap area, and the granting of land rights to indigenous people as well as flood-affected and disaster-hit families among the current encroachers.
The visit, the team said, underscores the urgency of addressing land rights issues in Assam’s tribal regions.
Saikia added that the CPI(ML) would continue to stand with the Singpho community in their fight to preserve their heritage and livelihood.
