Eviction drive on in Goalpara to clear 1,140 bighas, curb human-elephant conflict

Guwahati, Nov 9: Amid Assam’s ongoing eviction drives across the state, the Goalpara district administration on Sunday launched a major operation at Dahikata, deploying over 50 excavators to clear forest land from alleged illegal encroachment.

According to officials, around 1,140 bighas of land are set to be freed from encroachment across five blocks in the Dahikata region. Around 70 percent of the settlers had vacated the area ahead of the eviction, the officials informed.

To ensure security, a large contingent of police personnel, including the Black Commandos and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), has been deployed in the area.

"There were 580 families who had encroached on 1,140 bighas of land. The notices were issued to them more than 15 days ago to vacate the areas," said to Goalpara District Commissioner Prodip Timung. 

The eviction drive began at 7 am amid heavy security deployment in the area.

“Our primary responsibility is to maintain law and order. The operation is proceeding peacefully, and all necessary precautions have been taken to prevent any untoward incident,” a police official said.

Special Chief Secretary of the Forest Department, MK Yadava, said that through the eviction drives in Goalpara, the administration aims to reduce human-elephant conflicts.

"You’ve witnessed this in Lakhipur, and soon you’ll see the same results here. A few elephants are still roaming nearby, but once the encroached land is cleared, they’ll return,” said M.K. Yadava, Special Chief Secretary of the Forest Department.

Yadava further informed that plans are underway to construct protective fencing in the region to prevent future encroachment and minimise human-wildlife conflict.

“As this is a sensitive area, we are planning to fence it so that elephants can move freely without causing inconvenience to nearby residents,” he added.

Settlers, meanwhile, have raised objections to the eviction drive, alleging that it is being carried out on revenue land and calling it  a deliberate ploy to divert public attention from key state issues, including justice for cultural icon Zubeen Garg.

“This is a targeted exercise against the minority community. The government is trying to distract people from its failure to deliver justice to Zubeen da; these are all diversionary tactics,” said a settler.

Officials, however, maintained that the eviction drive was being conducted strictly in accordance with a High Court order and due legal process.

“As per the High Court directive, eviction notices were served 15 days in advance, and many settlers have complied. Some have already dismantled their homes and vacated the forest land,” an official said.

Highlighting the government’s continued efforts, Yadava also informed that the Forest Department has evicted over 1.03 lakh bighas of encroached forest land across Assam in the past four years under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s leadership.