Golaghat/Nagaon, Oct 17 The authorities carried out eviction drives to clear encroachments in reserved forest areas of Assam’s Golaghat, Nagaon and Hojai districts on Saturday, affecting over 500 families, officials said.
No untoward incident was reported during the exercises.
Excavators were used to demolish the structures, as most families had already left the areas with their belongings after notices were served on them by the administration, officials said.
Heavy security was deployed in all the areas where the anti-encroachment drives were carried out, with paramilitary personnel assisting the local police and the Forest Department.
In Golaghat district, the eviction exercise was conducted in three areas, District Commissioner Biswajit Phukan said.
Of the houses targeted for eviction, 60 were in the Doyang Reserved Forest, spread across three villages in the 2 No. Negheribil area, and 12 were in the Gelajan and Rajapukhuri areas of Nambor South.
Phukan said these families had obtained temporary relief from the court when the first phase of the eviction drive in the area was carried out in July last year.
“After completing the necessary legal formalities as directed by the court, we conducted the second phase of the eviction today,” the DC said adding that those 72 houses were also demolished.
In Nagaon district, the anti-encroachment exercise was conducted in the Borpani Reserved Forest area to clear 216 hectares of land on which 335 families had been living, officials said.
They said notices had been served on the encroacher families, and most had left the area with their movable property.
The eviction drive was carried out to demolish concrete and other permanent structures and clear the area of all encroachments, the officials added.
The exercise was also carried out in the Jamuna-Moudanga Reserved Forest in Hojai district, covering around 70 hectares of land.
Senior Superintendent of Police Nirupam Hazarika said the drive had been peaceful, with people cooperating with the authorities.
“There were 158 houses on encroached forest land. Of these, many families had already left, and we demolished the remaining structures. There was no untoward incident,” he said.
A Forest Department official said these families had initially obtained court stay orders against eviction.
The drive was carried out after the authorities completed all the required legal procedures, he added.
(PTI News)
