Assam administration evicts 550 families in Dhubri for industrial park
More than 4,500 people were removed from government land in Dhubri district to make way for a new industrial park.
The administration in Dhubri district of western Assam has evicted more than 4,500 people, comprising about 550 families, from government land since Sunday, according to the Deccan Herald.
The eviction drive took place at the Alamganj Part IX area, where bulldozers were used to remove houses, a mosque, and other establishments. The district administration stated these were illegally constructed on government land.
Dhubri district commissioner Dibakar Nath told reporters on Sunday that the drive aims to clear 650 bighas (215 acres) of government land that had been illegally occupied. Nath said about 800 bighas of government land had been illegally occupied, but 150 bighas are subject to pending cases in the Gauhati High Court.
Nath claimed that 80 per cent of the victims had vacated the land on their own after notices were issued months ago. The land will be handed over to the industry department for an industrial park.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on his X account on Monday that the land belongs to the people of Assam and not to encroachers. He stated that bulldozers are the formula for removing encroachers.
The victims are Bengali-speaking Muslims. The BJP-led government has been conducting drives to clear forests and government land from encroachers since 2021.