Goalpara: Authorities in Assam’s Goalpara district launched an eviction drive on Saturday morning to clear encroachments on approximately 135 hectares of land within the Paikan Reserve Forest, officials confirmed.
The operation, which is being closely supervised by senior district and police officials, has remained peaceful so far.
Around 40 excavators have been deployed, along with heavy security to ensure smooth proceedings.
Goalpara Deputy Commissioner Khanindra Choudhury had earlier informed that nearly 95 percent of the alleged illegal settlers had already vacated the forest area voluntarily, dismantling their structures ahead of the drive.
The eviction, initially planned for Friday, was deferred by a day in deference to Friday prayers, as the area has a significant Muslim population.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that the delay was made out of respect for the religious sentiments of the local community.
Goalpara Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Tejas Mariswamy had earlier said that over 1,080 families were occupying forest land in the Krishnai Range’s Paikan Reserve Forest.
Notices were issued to them last year, followed by fresh directives in June, asking them to vacate by July 10.
Since 2023, the administration has cleared encroachments on around 650 hectares across four forest ranges.
Of that, 200 hectares were under human habitation, while the remaining 450 hectares were used for cultivation, Mariswamy added.
A similar eviction drive was carried out earlier this week in Dhubri district, where nearly 1,160 acres of encroached land across the villages of Charuwa Bakra, Chirakuta, and Santoshpur were cleared.
The land is intended to be handed over to the Adani Group for the development of a 3,400-MW thermal power plant.
That operation, however, witnessed unrest, with alleged encroachers damaging equipment and clashing with security personnel, prompting police to use baton charges to disperse the crowd.
The chief minister, who visited the proposed power plant site last month, reiterated on Thursday that eviction efforts across the state would continue.
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He said over 25,000 acres of land have been cleared of encroachment in the past four years.
“The Gauhati High Court has directed us to clear forest land,” Sarma said during a press briefing. “It has also instructed us to ensure that basic necessities like drinking water are provided to those evicted.”
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress party has sharply criticised the BJP-led state government’s eviction policy.
The party has promised to compensate all evicted Indian citizens if voted to power in Assam.
