GUWAHATI, March 4 - Reacting to the eviction drive against encroachment in Guwahati, the Prabrajan Virodhi Manch today said that the government must complete the anti-encroachment drives in rural areas, to make sufficient land available to the landless indigenous people of the State.
Manch convener Upamanyu Hazarika today said that after taking up token evictions in several districts of Middle Assam, Nagaon, Darrang, South Kamrup, etc, which was stopped abruptly, suddenly the focus of eviction is Guwahati, where a large number of indigenous people, including those who are also the victims of Bangladeshi invasion in Lower Assam districts, are affected.
�Some of these people are already refugees in Guwahati, and if evicted, they have no other place to go,� he added.
Calling upon the State Government to complete the eviction drives in Sipajhar, Palasbari, Mayong, etc, the Manch said that rather than focusing on the large-scale encroachment in rural areas, the entire focus has been shifted to eviction in Guwahati, and as a result, illegal Bangladeshis were getting the benefit.
�The State Revenue Minister, AGP, BJP, Congress, AIUDF are all in favour of giving land to the landless, but no distinction is made between the indigenous and the Bangladeshis, because by virtue of being voters, all are equally important for the political class.
�It is only this week that the Gauhati High Court stated that residency certificates given by gaon panchayats have no legal validity. It is on the basis of such certificates and falsely procured documents that the Bangladeshis acquire rights over land and enjoy the benefits of government schemes. The government should undertake eviction in rural areas, which is the mandate of the judgment given by the Supreme Court.�
The organisation further appealed to the government that the controversy arising out of the eviction drive in Guwahati should not be used as an excuse to stop eviction in other places of the State.
