The Assam government on Sunday launched a eviction campaign to clean the alleged encroachment from about 1,000 bighas of forest land, displacing more than 350 families in Golaghat district.
The day after completion of a five-day long first phase of a large-scale eviction campaign to clean the alleged encroachments from about 11,000 bighas of forest land in the Rengma Reserve One, the administration launched a similar drive inside the Nambor South Reserve Forest.
“The areas encroached in Geljan and No. 3 Rajpukhuri were cleaned during the day, in which more than 350 houses were evicted and about 1,000 bighas of forest land were reclaimed. The eviction drive was done peacefully, without any resistance, the coordinated plan and the execution by the authorities,” said an official release.
Senior officials, including Special Chief Secretary MK Yadav, Golghat District Commissioner Pulak Mahata and Superintendent of Police Rajan Singh, were present to take care of the operation, so that it proceeded in a valid and systematic manner.
The statement said that this eviction initiative becomes a part of a comprehensive ecological reinstatement strategy for the purpose of recovering forest land from illegal encroachment.
The ongoing eviction initiative was led by Assam Forest Department in coordination with Golghat District Administration, Assam Police, Central Reserve Police Force and Nagaland government.
In the Rengma Reserve One at Uriyamghat along the Assam-Nagaland border in the Sarupathar sub-division, the eviction drive displaces about 1,500 families, mostly from the Muslim community.
In addition, 205 houses have also been served eviction notices in the Negeribil region under Merapani located within the Doyang Reserve One. The drive there is scheduled to begin on August 8.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without amending the text.
