NORTH LAKHIMPUR, March 24 - A selective eviction drive by Lakhimpur district revenue department on government lands belonging to soil conservation department has created widespread public resentment across the district.
The hot spot of this selective eviction drive is the left hand bank side of the Subansiri river in Chawul Dhowa ghaat under Kadam Revenue Circle of Lakhimpur district touching the NH-15, 30 km east of North Lakhimpur. The revenue department carried out an eviction drive during the last week of February this year after serving notices to people living on the government lands measuring 518 bighas with permanent structures. While the eviction drive demolished all the houses and other structures constructed on the soil conservation department�s land off the river, it allowed the stone crusher units and depots of stone and sand quarries to stay.
It may be mentioned that there are number of mega structures of stone crushing, broken chips, bitumen units and depots of sand, pebbles and bricks on soil conservation lands with plantations like Aezar, Sishu, Khayer etc. These facilities on soil conservation lands have been on for several years with huge machineries where mountains of crushed stones, sands and other construction materials are heaped. Heavy vehicles carrying these materials crisscross these government lands with plantations day and night making the entire area noisy, polluted and unsafe for public besides damaging the ecology of that riverine area. But the concerned authorities have not taken up any move against these facilities constructed on government land while evicting people who have been settled on the same side.
