Guwahati, July 10: The Goalpara district administration will launch a massive eviction drive on Friday to reclaim over 140 hectares of illegally occupied land inside the Paikan Reserve Forest in Assam’s Goalpara district.
The eviction is scheduled to begin on July 11, with a July 10 deadline given to encroachers to voluntarily vacate the forest land.
The Paikan Reserve Forest covers a total area of 711 hectares, of which 140 hectares have been encroached upon over the years.
According to forest officials, this patch of land is part of a critical ecosystem, and unauthorised settlements have severely impacted its ecological integrity.
“There is an area of 138 hectares, which is equivalent to 1,031 bighas. The deadline has been set to clear the houses by July 10. There are four government primary schools, one private primary school, five anganwadi centres, eight mosques, five cemeteries, and three eidgahs in the area illegally occupied by the encroachers,” said an official.
The Dhubri district administration recently carried out a massive eviction drive to clear 3,500 bighas of land.
State BJP spokesperson Pankaj Borbora on Wednesday alleged that previous Congress governments, for the sake of vote-bank politics, had settled East Bengali-origin people on protected lands and indulged in appeasement.
In contrast, he said, the BJP is committed to safeguarding the rights and future of the indigenous Assamese people.
Sivasagar MLA and Raijor Dal leader Akhil Gogoi also visited the site but was detained by police. Calling the eviction illegal and unconstitutional, Gogoi said, “This is nothing but bullying of minorities. I clearly stated that the affected people should be fairly compensated.”
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