Eviction drive to clear 450 hectares of forest land underway in Assam’s Lakhimpur
By PTI
LAKHIMPUR: An eviction drive to clear 450 hectares of forest land from “illegal settlers” is underway in Assam’s Lakhimpur district on Tuesday, officers mentioned.
Out of two,560.25 hectares of the reserved forest, solely 29 hectares are at present freed from any encroachment, they mentioned.
More than 500 households have been affected within the drive to clear 450 hectares of land below Pavo reserved forest, with 200 hectares being focused within the first section on Tuesday, a senior police officer mentioned.
Lakhimpur Additional Superintendent of Police Runa Neog mentioned over 60 excavators and tractors and 600 safety personnel have been pressed into motion since morning.
“The drive is underway peacefully since 7.30 am and we have not faced any resistance so far. We are expecting a smooth exercise,” Neog informed PTI.
She mentioned safety forces had been conducting space domination for the previous few days and the “illegal settlers” have been requested to vacate their homes.
Official sources mentioned that 200 hectares of land in Moghuli village, which had 299 households, might be cleared on Tuesday.
The remaining 250 hectares of land in Adhasona village, with round 200 households, might be taken up afterward Tuesday, relying on daylight, or on Wednesday.
ALSO READ | The Forest Fighters: The story of primitive Baiga tribe in Madhya Pradesh village
Altogether 43 excavators and 25 tractors have been pressed into motion, whereas 600 police and CRPF personnel have been deployed.
Almost all of the folks have already vacated their homes following a number of rounds of notifications from the administration, the sources added.
Most of these affected have been Bengali Muslims. Some households loaded their items on vehicles, whereas others trudged out with their baggage on their bicycles. Children carried bundles on their heads and walked beside their mother and father on Monday.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ashok Kumar Dev Choudhury had mentioned that 701 households have encroached upon the Pava reserved forest land during the last three many years.
The “illegal settlers” embrace folks from totally different components of the state, in addition to locals, displaced as a consequence of flood and erosion.
They had claimed they have been earlier given land possession paperwork, which have been rejected by the current BJP-led authorities.
The villagers additionally alleged that the demarcation pillars of the Pava reserve forest have modified a number of instances, particularly since 2017, and claimed that “arbitrary marking” was being accomplished to demarcate the boundary forward of the eviction drive.
District Deputy Commissioner Sumit Sattawan had mentioned the folks residing within the encroached areas have been notified by the forest division and native administration two years in the past to vacate the realm.
In July final yr, 84 households submitted paperwork claiming land possession however these have been discovered to be pretend upon scrutiny.
On September 7, the circle officer of Naoboicha personally approached the encroachers and requested them to go away voluntarily, he mentioned. The drive was speculated to be carried out in September however was deferred as a consequence of floods.
The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led dispensation has been finishing up eviction drives in numerous components of the state because it assumed energy in May 2021, with two such workouts undertaken final month.
LAKHIMPUR: An eviction drive to clear 450 hectares of forest land from “illegal settlers” is underway in Assam’s Lakhimpur district on Tuesday, officers mentioned.
Out of two,560.25 hectares of the reserved forest, solely 29 hectares are at present freed from any encroachment, they mentioned.
More than 500 households have been affected within the drive to clear 450 hectares of land below Pavo reserved forest, with 200 hectares being focused within the first section on Tuesday, a senior police officer mentioned.
Lakhimpur Additional Superintendent of Police Runa Neog mentioned over 60 excavators and tractors and 600 safety personnel have been pressed into motion since morning.
“The drive is underway peacefully since 7.30 am and we have not faced any resistance so far. We are expecting a smooth exercise,” Neog informed PTI.
She mentioned safety forces had been conducting space domination for the previous few days and the “illegal settlers” have been requested to vacate their homes.
Official sources mentioned that 200 hectares of land in Moghuli village, which had 299 households, might be cleared on Tuesday.
The remaining 250 hectares of land in Adhasona village, with round 200 households, might be taken up afterward Tuesday, relying on daylight, or on Wednesday.
ALSO READ | The Forest Fighters: The story of primitive Baiga tribe in Madhya Pradesh village
Altogether 43 excavators and 25 tractors have been pressed into motion, whereas 600 police and CRPF personnel have been deployed.
Almost all of the folks have already vacated their homes following a number of rounds of notifications from the administration, the sources added.
Most of these affected have been Bengali Muslims. Some households loaded their items on vehicles, whereas others trudged out with their baggage on their bicycles. Children carried bundles on their heads and walked beside their mother and father on Monday.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ashok Kumar Dev Choudhury had mentioned that 701 households have encroached upon the Pava reserved forest land during the last three many years.
The “illegal settlers” embrace folks from totally different components of the state, in addition to locals, displaced as a consequence of flood and erosion.
They had claimed they have been earlier given land possession paperwork, which have been rejected by the current BJP-led authorities.
The villagers additionally alleged that the demarcation pillars of the Pava reserve forest have modified a number of instances, particularly since 2017, and claimed that “arbitrary marking” was being accomplished to demarcate the boundary forward of the eviction drive.
District Deputy Commissioner Sumit Sattawan had mentioned the folks residing within the encroached areas have been notified by the forest division and native administration two years in the past to vacate the realm.
In July final yr, 84 households submitted paperwork claiming land possession however these have been discovered to be pretend upon scrutiny.
On September 7, the circle officer of Naoboicha personally approached the encroachers and requested them to go away voluntarily, he mentioned. The drive was speculated to be carried out in September however was deferred as a consequence of floods.
The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led dispensation has been finishing up eviction drives in numerous components of the state because it assumed energy in May 2021, with two such workouts undertaken final month.
