New Delhi, January 12, 2023 (PPI-OT):The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government in Assam is continuing with its eviction campaign in different parts of the state. Despite criticism from opposition and several social activists, the Chief Minister had, on December 21, told the state assembly that eviction drives to clear government and forest lands would continue as long as the BJP is in power.

As such, the drive to evict “encroachers” from Pava Reserve forest land in Lakhimpur district, spread over 250 hectares, continued for the second day on Wednesday. A total of 299 families, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims, were forced to vacate their homes. They express the grief that they could not collect all of their belongings, and the administration also destroyed their crops.

The exercise, which began on Tuesday, is being undertaken by the state to clear around 450 hectares in Pava Reserve Forest. On the first day, officials cleared 200 hectares in Mohghuli village, which was home to 201 families. Around 70 bulldozers, excavators and tractors have been pressed into action in Adhasona village. About 600 police and CRPF personnel stood guard to oversee the eviction.

The residents and leaders said that they were given land ownership documents earlier. However, they said that the documents were rejected by the BJP-led dispensation in Assam, media reports said. A resident of the locality maintained that the state government had provided them with land ownership decades earlier. “When we submitted the same to this government, they rejected it. Where do we go now?” he wondered. The villagers also alleged that the demarcation pillar of the reserve forest has been changed several times, especially since 2017.

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