Eviction drive underway at Burhachapori WLS, target set at 6,200 bighas

Sonitpur, January 5: A large-scale eviction drive began on encroached Compensatory Afforestation land under the Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) in Assam’s Sonitpur district on Monday.

The drive marks the latest phase of the state government’s ongoing campaign against alleged illegal occupation of government and forest land.

The operation, undertaken by the Sonitpur district administration in coordination with the district forest department, involved heavy deployment of personnel and machinery to clear vast tracts of protected land.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue), Sonitpur, Kamal Baruah said that around 6,200 bighas of land spread across the Tezpur, Thelamara and Dhekiajuli revenue circles had been earmarked for Compensatory Afforestation linked to the Burhachapori WLS but was found to be under illegal occupation.

“This land was occupied in the form of dwelling houses and agricultural activities. A joint verification was conducted earlier by officials from the revenue circles and the forest department, following which notices were served asking the encroachers to vacate,” Baruah said.

He said that despite being given nearly a month to comply with the notices, most occupants failed to vacate the land.

“Except for a few, the encroachers did not leave the area within the stipulated period. As per protocol and relevant Acts, today’s eviction drive was carried out to free the land from illegal occupation,” Baruah said, adding that around 710 households had been identified as encroachers.

The eviction drive began in the morning after repeated public announcements were made asking residents to vacate. Officials said adequate procedural steps had been followed before the operation commenced.

Detailing the scale of the exercise, Baruah said that nearly 20 excavators, about 100 labourers and around 500 police personnel were deployed for the eviction on Monday.

“The operation was supervised by a team of magistrates led by Sonitpur Deputy Commissioner Ananda Kumar Das and Superintendent of Police Barun Purakayastha. The eviction was peacefully,” said Baruah.

Officials said groundwork for the operation had begun earlier, with a joint team from the Sonitpur district administration, the forest department and the Nagaon Wildlife Sanctuary visiting the area on December 17 to assess the extent of encroachment.

The latest drive follows a major eviction operation conducted by the government in February 2023, when around 1,900 hectares of land were cleared of illegal encroachment in the Char-Chapori area of the Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary.

Located on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra, the Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary spans 44.06 square kilometres and occupies a strategically important ecological position in Assam’s protected area network.

It is flanked by Kaziranga National Park to the east, Orang National Park and Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary to the west, Pakke–Nameri National Park to the north, and the reserve forests of Karbi Anglong to the south.