SC green signal for Assam eviction drive, 5 lakh bighas of forest land under focus
The State has formed a joint Forest and Revenue committee, issued 15-day notices, and plans large-scale plantation in reclaimed areas
Guwahati, Feb 26: Armed with a green signal from the Supreme Court, the Assam Government is planning to launch eviction drives in forest areas with new vigour, and the target is to evict encroachers from at least five lakh bighas of forest land.
The Government has constituted a committee comprising officers from the Forest and Revenue Departments, and a 15-day notice would be given to the encroachers of the forest areas to vacate the place. If the encroachers do not vacate the place within the stipulated time frame, they will be evicted. The Apex Court admitted that the process of the Government for the removal of encroachment conforms to the principles of fairness.
Official sources told The Assam Tribune that armed with the green signal from the Supreme Court, eviction drives in the forest areas would be intensified. So far, the Government has cleared around 1.5 lakh bighas of encroached land, which includes around 1.2 lakh bighas of forest land, and the rest is revenue land.
Sources pointed out that eviction drives were often delayed as the encroachers moved to court. This time around, nine parties went to the Supreme Court, and the Court ruled in favour of the State Government. After this, the process of evictions will be easier, sources added.
Sources further admitted that the situation is often complicated as the encroached persons are given electricity and water connections, and in some cases, they also manage to get land pattas. However, the Government is not deterred by such issues, and eviction will remain a continuous process. “If we can clear five lakh bighas of forest land from the encroachers, that will be considered a positive development,” sources added.
Plantation has started in some of the evicted areas, including Lumding, Poha, Paikan, Urimghat, etc, and the plants have come up very well. Further plantation drives will be carried out in the evicted areas once the rainy season starts, sources added. However, sources admitted that it would take two to three years to complete the plantation in all the evicted areas.