The Government of Assam has set up district-level committees across the state to clear encroachments from notified forest or reserved forest land, formally institutionalising a mechanism that had earlier been presented by the Supreme Court.
A notification issued by the state’s Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department stated that the move is intended to streamline and standardise the eviction process so that it is implemented without deviation.
As per the order, the Governor of Assam has approved the constitution of District-Level Committees to oversee the removal of encroachments from forest land owned, controlled, or managed by the state government.
Each committee will be headed by the District Commissioner, with the Divisional Forest Officer functioning as the Member Secretary. The panel will also include the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue), along with the concerned Range Officer and Circle Officer.
Also Read: “SC verdict on forest land evictions in Assam a landmark judgement”: Assam CM
The notification lays down several roles and responsibilities of the committees:
(i) the committee shall issue notice to the alleged unauthorized occupants and shall give them an opportunity to adduce evidence to show that they have a legal and statutory right to occupy the land which is in their possession.
(ii) The action for removal of encroachment shall be taken only if it is found that there is an unauthorized encroachment in the forest area/reserved forest area.
(iii) In case the notice is found to be within the revenue limits, outside the notified forest area/reserved forest area, the details of the notice shall be sent to the Revenue Department. In such cases, Revenue department shall decide the future course of action.
(iv) If an unauthorized occupation is found in a forest/reserved forest area, after scrutiny of the documents, a speaking order shall be passed and shall be served on the person concerned, giving him 15 days’ notice to vacate the unauthorized occupation and only after expiry of the period of notice shall the action be taken to remove the unauthorized occupants.
(v) The occupation of a gaon panchayat in a forest shall be permissible only if there is sufficient proof, as per the Jamabandi Register maintained by the Forest Department or as provided under the Forest Rights Act.
(vi). The member secretary of the committee will issue notices and sign the speaking orders on behalf of the committee.
On February 11, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described the Supreme Court verdict upholding the Assam government’s authority to evict encroachments from forest land as a “landmark decision” that would bring clarity and speed to ongoing eviction drives.
The Chief Minister said the government would comply with the apex court’s directive to constitute a committee before carrying out evictions. The panel, to be formed by Wednesday evening, will examine claims and issue eviction notices where applicable.
