Over 201 households affected as 200 hectares of forest land in Assam will get cleared
7 min readBy PTI
NORTH LAKHIMPUR: Nearly 70 bulldozers and excavators cleared 200 hectares of forest land in Assam’s Lakhimpur district on Tuesday, affecting over 201 households, most of whom are Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Altogether 43 excavators and 25 tractors have been pressed into motion, whereas 600 police and CRPF personnel have been deployed together with 200 civil officers for the drive in Mohghuli village, officers stated.
They stated of two,560.25 hectares of the Pava Reserve Forest, solely 29 hectares are presently freed from any encroachment.
Almost all of the folks have already vacated their homes following a number of rounds of notifications from the administration, they stated.
“We had a good crop of mustard and seasonal vegetables this time. The government did not even give us time to harvest our crops. It seems they deliberately targeted us on the economic front,” Samsul Haque (identify modified on request) informed PTI.
Most of these affected within the drive are Bengali-speaking Muslims.
The farmer claimed that the native circle workplace has been amassing taxes from them for permitting agriculture on the land.
“The administration very cruelly filled our ponds, where we were cultivating fishes, with earth. We were not allowed to collect the fishes, which have now been buried,” the farmer stated.
A 55-year-old lady claimed they’re erosion-hit households and got here to settle within the space round 25 years in the past.
“We were allowed to settle here by earlier governments. Now, they are asking us to leave. Where will we go overnight?” Amina Begum (identify modified) stated sobbingly.
Like the duo, the “illegal settlers” claimed they embody folks from completely different components of the state in addition to locals displaced on account of flood and erosion.
They claimed they have been earlier given land possession paperwork, however these have been rejected by the current BJP-led authorities.
Though the federal government claimed the realm was encroached upon, schemes reminiscent of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana, MGNREGA, Anganwadi centres, water provide and rural electrification have been carried out over time.
On Monday, some households loaded their items on vans, whereas others trudged out with their baggage on their bicycles.
Children carried bundles on their heads and walked beside their mother and father.
The eviction drive was launched to clear 450 hectares of forest land, of which 200 hectares have been cleared through the day, whereas the remaining 250 hectares of land, the place 299 households had been dwelling, might be cleared the following day.
“The drive has been underway peacefully since 7. 30 am and we have not faced any resistance so far. We are expecting a smooth exercise,” Lakhimpur Additional Superintendent of Police Runa Neog stated.
She stated safety forces had been conducting space domination for the previous couple of days and the “illegal settlers” have been requested to vacate their homes.
This is the third main eviction drive in Assam inside a month.
The drive in Nagoan’s Batadrava on December 19 was billed as one of many largest within the area because it uprooted greater than 5,000 alleged encroachers, adopted by one other train on December 26 to clear 53.5 hectares of land in Barpeta district.
Some of the affected folks claimed there are round 500 extra households, who’re Hindus, dwelling within the forest and the “government must evict them too” whether it is actually involved about encroachment.
According to a senior official, the Hindu households belong to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe communities, principally coming to the realm after turning into landless on account of flood and erosion somewhere else of Lakhimpur district.
“The local DFO in 2016 carried out a survey to find out illegal settlers. Then these SC and ST people approached the Gauhati High Court demanding rehabilitation with land rights. The HC had then stayed their eviction till an alternate arrangement was made,” he added.
Lakhimpur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ashok Kumar Dev Choudhury claimed that altogether 701 households have encroached upon the Pava Reserve Forest land during the last three a long time.
He stated the federal government has accepted a proposal for afforestation in 200 hectares of land out of the 450 hectares earmarked for eviction.
“We had sent a proposal of afforestation in the remaining 250 hectares of land too. We hope that the government will approve it in the coming days,” he added.
The affected villagers additionally alleged that the demarcation pillars of Pava Reserve Forest have modified a number of occasions, particularly since 2017, and claimed that “arbitrary marking” was being performed to demarcate the boundary forward of the eviction drive.
Lakhimpur Deputy Commissioner Sumit Sattawan had stated the folks dwelling within the encroached areas have been notified by the forest division and native administration two years in the past to vacate the realm.
The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led dispensation has been finishing up eviction drives in numerous components of the state because it assumed energy in May 2021, with two such main workout routines undertaken final month.
NORTH LAKHIMPUR: Nearly 70 bulldozers and excavators cleared 200 hectares of forest land in Assam’s Lakhimpur district on Tuesday, affecting over 201 households, most of whom are Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Altogether 43 excavators and 25 tractors have been pressed into motion, whereas 600 police and CRPF personnel have been deployed together with 200 civil officers for the drive in Mohghuli village, officers stated.
They stated of two,560.25 hectares of the Pava Reserve Forest, solely 29 hectares are presently freed from any encroachment.
Almost all of the folks have already vacated their homes following a number of rounds of notifications from the administration, they stated.
“We had a good crop of mustard and seasonal vegetables this time. The government did not even give us time to harvest our crops. It seems they deliberately targeted us on the economic front,” Samsul Haque (identify modified on request) informed PTI.
Most of these affected within the drive are Bengali-speaking Muslims.
The farmer claimed that the native circle workplace has been amassing taxes from them for permitting agriculture on the land.
“The administration very cruelly filled our ponds, where we were cultivating fishes, with earth. We were not allowed to collect the fishes, which have now been buried,” the farmer stated.
A 55-year-old lady claimed they’re erosion-hit households and got here to settle within the space round 25 years in the past.
“We were allowed to settle here by earlier governments. Now, they are asking us to leave. Where will we go overnight?” Amina Begum (identify modified) stated sobbingly.
Like the duo, the “illegal settlers” claimed they embody folks from completely different components of the state in addition to locals displaced on account of flood and erosion.
They claimed they have been earlier given land possession paperwork, however these have been rejected by the current BJP-led authorities.
Though the federal government claimed the realm was encroached upon, schemes reminiscent of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana, MGNREGA, Anganwadi centres, water provide and rural electrification have been carried out over time.
On Monday, some households loaded their items on vans, whereas others trudged out with their baggage on their bicycles.
Children carried bundles on their heads and walked beside their mother and father.
The eviction drive was launched to clear 450 hectares of forest land, of which 200 hectares have been cleared through the day, whereas the remaining 250 hectares of land, the place 299 households had been dwelling, might be cleared the following day.
“The drive has been underway peacefully since 7. 30 am and we have not faced any resistance so far. We are expecting a smooth exercise,” Lakhimpur Additional Superintendent of Police Runa Neog stated.
She stated safety forces had been conducting space domination for the previous couple of days and the “illegal settlers” have been requested to vacate their homes.
This is the third main eviction drive in Assam inside a month.
The drive in Nagoan’s Batadrava on December 19 was billed as one of many largest within the area because it uprooted greater than 5,000 alleged encroachers, adopted by one other train on December 26 to clear 53.5 hectares of land in Barpeta district.
Some of the affected folks claimed there are round 500 extra households, who’re Hindus, dwelling within the forest and the “government must evict them too” whether it is actually involved about encroachment.
According to a senior official, the Hindu households belong to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe communities, principally coming to the realm after turning into landless on account of flood and erosion somewhere else of Lakhimpur district.
“The local DFO in 2016 carried out a survey to find out illegal settlers. Then these SC and ST people approached the Gauhati High Court demanding rehabilitation with land rights. The HC had then stayed their eviction till an alternate arrangement was made,” he added.
Lakhimpur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ashok Kumar Dev Choudhury claimed that altogether 701 households have encroached upon the Pava Reserve Forest land during the last three a long time.
He stated the federal government has accepted a proposal for afforestation in 200 hectares of land out of the 450 hectares earmarked for eviction.
“We had sent a proposal of afforestation in the remaining 250 hectares of land too. We hope that the government will approve it in the coming days,” he added.
The affected villagers additionally alleged that the demarcation pillars of Pava Reserve Forest have modified a number of occasions, particularly since 2017, and claimed that “arbitrary marking” was being performed to demarcate the boundary forward of the eviction drive.
Lakhimpur Deputy Commissioner Sumit Sattawan had stated the folks dwelling within the encroached areas have been notified by the forest division and native administration two years in the past to vacate the realm.
The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led dispensation has been finishing up eviction drives in numerous components of the state because it assumed energy in May 2021, with two such main workout routines undertaken final month.
