GUWAHATI, March 10 � A total of 71 bigha 1 katha and 4 lecha land belonging to different satras and devalayas of the State have been under encroachment.
State Revenue Minister Dr Bhumidhar Barman said this in the Assembly while replying to a call attention by Dr Kamala Kalita (AGP) who had stated citing a recent report in Asomiya Pratidin that 6,576 bighas of land of 39 satras were under encroachment by illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.
Dr Barman said that the State Government was taking serious note of the encroachments on the property of the satras and devalayas that had had a profound impact in shaping the State�s cultural and spiritual life.
�Deputy Commissioners and circle inspectors have been given strict instructions to evict the encroachers and check further illegal possession of lands belonging to these shrines. We have also provided the district authorities with sufficient funds so that we can have a sustained anti-encroachment drive. The circle officers will be held personally liable in the case of fresh encroachments,� he said, adding that complains of any act of encroachment would immediately be acted upon.
The official district-wise break-up of the encroachment is: Dhubri- (Ramrai Kuti Satra-2 katha) Morigaon (Patekibari Satra-37 bigha 1 katha 17 lecha), Darrang (Rudreswar Devalaya-14 bigha 4 katha 10 lecha), Jorhat (Auniati Satra-2 bigha 10 katha Dakhinpat Sakha Satra-15 bigha).
The State Government had provided a grant through the Cultural Affairs Department of amounting to Rs 4 crore to 63 satras in the financial year 2006-07. This was followed by another grant of Rs 1.25 lakh to 60 satras under the Asom Bikash Yojana. At present, another grant of Rs 5 lakh had been made to five satras.
