Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has ordered a temporary halt to the ongoing eviction drive in Uriamghat, located in Assam’s Golaghat district.
The order was issued by a Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice on Tuesday in response to several petitions challenging the eviction notice.
The stay, issued on August 5, remains in effect until August 14, providing an interim relief to 75 families facing demolition.
The court also directed the Assam government to submit a detailed affidavit on the legal status of the land in question.
The court’s interim order was issued in response to a petition filed by affected families, who argued that the land they occupy has not been officially declared as forest or revenue land.
The petitioners argued that the area has been inhabited for several years and that the government has extended welfare schemes to the residents, including homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), electricity connections, and other civic benefits. They contended that their homes cannot be classified as encroachments.
The petitioners also stated that the eviction notice served to them provided only seven days’ notice, denying them adequate time to present legal documents to establish their residential claims.
Taking note of these submissions, the High Court directed the Assam government to file a comprehensive affidavit by August 14, detailing the legal classification of the disputed land and all actions taken so far. Simultaneously, the court instructed the petitioners to submit all supporting documents to validate their claims of land allotment and residential legitimacy.
The Uriamghat eviction is part of a larger land reclamation initiative launched by the Assam government in late July 2025.
Advocate A.R. Bhuyan, representing the petitioners, stated, “We appeared before the Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court today regarding the eviction drive in Uriamghat. The primary contention is that no proper demarcation of the land has been carried out, and thus any eviction is legally untenable.”
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been supporting eviction drives aimed at reclaiming forest and protected lands, especially in cases of what he terms “non-tribal encroachments.”
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He also claimed that evictions will continue unless settlers are protected under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. As of mid-2025, the government has cleared nearly 160 sq km of land across the state, impacting more than 50,000 people.
