Assam: Two-day drive from Sunday to clear encroachments from forest land

A two-day eviction drive will be undertaken from Sunday to clear encroachments from over 375 acres of forest land in Assam's Goalpara district, a senior official said.

He said notices have been served to 580 households, asking them to clear out of the encroached lands in Dahikata reserve forest, with about 70 per cent of them already leaving the area, he said.

''The eviction drive will be undertaken to clear encroachments from 1,140 bighas (376 acres) of forest land. It will be carried out over two days from tomorrow,'' Goalpara District Commissioner (DC) Prodip Timung said on Saturday.

''We have divided the area into five blocks... and only in one block, some people are still there. In the other blocks, most have left,'' Timung said.

''We have allowed the people to dismantle and move out with their things by today, and most have gone,'' he added.

The DC said the eviction drive is being undertaken as per Gauhati High Court's directives, with three petitions regarding the operation being earlier heard by the court.

''We are hopeful of a peaceful drive. There is sufficient security deployment and there has been no resistance so far,'' Timung added.

The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government has been carrying out eviction drives to clear encroached lands.

He had earlier asserted that eviction drives will continue till all encroached lands were cleared, claiming that huge tracts are under the possession of ''illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and doubtful citizens''.

Sarma had said that 29 lakh bighas (more than 9.5 lakh acres) of land is still under encroachment in the state and 1.29 lakh bighas (over 42,500 acres) have been cleared in the last four years.