Eviction drive in Biswanath targets 65 families to free 70–75 bighas of VGR land
Most families vacated land before drive began, officials say, as eviction proceeds smoothly with residents cooperating
The administration has also deployed bulldozers and excavators to clear the encroached structures as part of the drive.
Biswanath, Mar 9: Even as Assam remains in the thick of election fervour, the government on Monday launched an eviction drive in Biswanath’s Sootea.
The Biswanath district administration carried out the eviction at three locations in Sootea over alleged illegal encroachment on Village Grazing Reserve land.
The drive targeted 65 families accused of occupying the land, including 34 families in Milanpur, 16 in Soraijonia and 15 in Solahola.
“Three locations will be evicted today. Around 70 to 75 bighas of land is involved and the eviction will be completed today,” the Circle Officer of Naduar said.
Around 200 personnel from the police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incidents during the operation.
The administration has also deployed bulldozers and excavators to clear the encroached structures as part of the drive.
Officials said most of the families had vacated the land before the eviction began. The Circle Officer added that the process is being carried out smoothly with the cooperation of residents.
“People are cooperating with us. Before the eviction drive began, they had already vacated the places,” the officer said.
Earlier, on December 25, the Biswanath district administration carried out a large-scale eviction drive at Baghmari targeting alleged encroachments on government land.
The operation began amid heavy police deployment, with more than 17 bulldozers and several excavators pressed into service.
Officials said the drive followed eviction notices issued in August to 732 families accused of occupying 265 bighas of Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) land under plot numbers 203 and 189.
Meanwhile, following a Supreme Court verdict in February upholding the Assam government’s authority to evict encroachments from forest land, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described the ruling as a “landmark decision” that would bring clarity and speed to ongoing eviction drives.
The Chief Minister said the government would comply with the apex court’s directive to constitute a committee before carrying out evictions.