GUWAHATI, Aug 28 - The eviction drive at Amchang, which remained suspended for two days, was deferred again today.
Officials in the administration did not elaborate on the reasons and said the decision to defer the drive was taken due to �technical reasons�. The officials were also non-committal on the date on which the drive would resume.
In fact, the decision to defer the eviction was taken last evening and intimated to the Forest department.
Official sources said the Forest department had yesterday reviewed the preparations for resuming the eviction drive on Tuesday.
�We had held a meeting yesterday to review the preparations. We have even ordered the food for the personnel who would be on the field. But late in the evening we were intimated by the administration that the drive has been deferred. No reasons were given for the decision. We are in the dark,� a Forest official told The Assam Tribune.
�May be the government is also considering options to rehabilitate the evicted settlers,� the official added.
The massive eviction drive launched inside the wildlife sanctuary on Friday was suspended for two days, with the administration claiming that some settlers have volunteered to shift their belongings on their own.
The administration had also said that there was a need to mobilize the operation in a better way.
Sources, however, indicated that there was political pressure on the administration. Officials, when asked, refused to comment on the accusation.
Meanwhile, the Gauhati High Court today dismissed the petition filed by Ranjit Teron and 24 others against the eviction. The court also vacated the status quo order given in case of 25 families of Yusufnagar, a settlement inside the sanctuary.
On the other hand, several conservation groups today wrote to the Chief Minister separately seeking his �cooperation� in protecting the State�s forests and wildlife.
Early Birds president Moloy Barua smelt a conspiracy in the suspension of the eviction operation. In a letter to the Chief Minister, Barua said the government must rise above narrow political considerations and exhibit single-minded commitment in protecting the wildlife habitats. �The illegal migrants must be evicted from the tribal blocks and belts and the indigenous people who have settled inside forest lands must be rehabilitated there,� he said.
