Assam: 38 bighas of encroached forest land reclaimed in Nagaon eviction drive

Guwahati: Assam's Nagaon district administration, in collaboration with the police and Forest Department, conducted a large-scale eviction drive on Friday at Rupahihat, reclaiming 38 bighas of government and forest land allegedly occupied by illegal settlers.

This follows a similar operation in the Lutamaari area on November 29.

Officials stated that the drive focused on forest land under Bhakatgaon in Khatuwal Mouza.

Notices had been issued earlier to over 100 families, instructing them to vacate the land before the eviction.

A strong security presence was deployed, comprising more than 1,000 police personnel and four bulldozers assisting in the operation.

Authorities reported that around 80% of the encroached land had been vacated voluntarily, while the remaining families began leaving as the drive proceeded.

Senior officials from the district administration, police, and Forest Department supervised the operation on site.

Some residents expressed concern about the timing of the eviction. One woman expressed concern about the impact on school-going children. “The government should have considered that school exams are underway. They kept warning us to remove our belongings or the JCB would be used. We felt helpless,” she said.

Meanwhile, some locals supported the administration’s action. “The government took the right step. Land ownership must be respected. Those who want to build houses should buy land legally, not encroach on government property,” said a resident.

Friday’s drive comes after a major eviction in Nagaon’s Lutamaari Reserve Forest on Saturday, where nearly 1,700 families were identified for encroaching on 5,962 bighas of protected land.

That operation, led by the Forest Department with assistance from over 1,000 police personnel, followed notices served three months earlier asking settlers to vacate the area.

The Nagaon administration has stated that similar drives will continue in the coming weeks as part of ongoing efforts to reclaim government and forest land across the district.