HT Correspondent
MARGHERITA, March 21: The Tirap Frontier Tract in Margherita has been facing significant challenges due to alleged illegal land encroachments, former secretary of textile and handloom Bhogeswar Shyam said.
Notably, the tract was established on March 13, 1951, under the Assam government led by then chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi.
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Shyam further alleged that land designated for grazing in Kotha village was destroyed during the tenure of former Assam Chief Ministers Gopinath Bordoloi and Bishnu Ram Medhi, leading to an influx of settlers from Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, and other regions of Assam.
“Individuals such as Dipak Bharali have unlawfully occupied 625 Bighas, while Dipak Chetry and Pradit Chetry have encroached upon 32 Bighas using fraudulent refugee rehabilitation documents from Sadiya as he also raises concerns over violations of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, citing repeated attacks on the village chief and his family by outsiders where only four Singpho families remain in Kotha Gam Singpho village, living in fear due to ongoing threats and suppression,” Shyam further alleged.
Additionally, essential government services remain inaccessible to Kotha Gam Singpho village with poor road conditions, soil erosion, and continuous encroachment have further deteriorated the living conditions as the graveyard of freedom fighter Kotha Jawra Singpho has also reportedly been encroached upon, said Rekha Singpho daughter of Sen Gam Singpho.
Originally formed in Shillong and covering 4,000 square kilometres of the Patkai foothills, the region was merged into the general area before being designated as “Tirap.”
The tract was divided into two Mouzas – Makum and Tirap – with Tirap Mouza incorporated into the Tirap Tribal Belt. Bisa Jawkhong Ladoi, the first Mouzadar of Tirap Mouza, was recognised by the British India Government for his role in administration.
The tribal belt has been home to 47 villages, predominantly inhabited by communities such as Tangsa Naga, Sema Naga, Singpho, Tai Khamti, and Tai Phakey, who have lived in the region for centuries.
Kotha village, named after freedom fighter and social reformer Late King Kotha Jawra Singpho, held historical significance was honoured with a British medal for his contributions to the Singpho tribe and was authorized to collect land revenue in the Tirap Tribal Belt.
“Despite multiple appeals to the Margherita Co-District Commissioner, Margherita MLA, Lekhapani police, Tinsukia District Commissioner, Tinsukia Superintendent of Police and the Assam government, no concrete action has been taken as now we planned to escalate the matter to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST),Prime Minister of India, President of India and even the United Nations Secretary-General in Geneva, Switzerland,” Shyam added.
When contacted, officials from the Margherita co-district administration stated that they would look into the matter, but no further details were provided.
