The Assam government has once again started a large-scale eviction drive in the Goalpara district to remove illegal encroachments on forest land. On Sunday (9th November), officials began clearing about 1,140 bighas of land, over 376 acres, inside the Dahikata Reserve Forest. The eviction affects nearly 600 families, most of whom belong to the Bangladeshi infiltrators.
Goalpara Deputy Commissioner Prodip Timung said the operation is moving ahead “peacefully” and that residents had already been given more than two weeks’ notice to vacate the area. “About 70% of the families have already moved out, and the rest are in the process of leaving,” he told reporters.
The administration has deployed a large number of security personnel along with excavators and tractors to demolish houses and clear the land. For eviction, the entire forest area has been divided into five blocks. While minor resistance was reported from one block, officials said they are confident that the operation will be completed smoothly.
Deputy Commissioner Timung said that the drive was conducted in accordance with orders received from the Gauhati High Court following hearings on several petitions filed over land encroachments in the district.
The eviction is part of the broader campaign undertaken by the Assam government to free public and forest land, which it says is illegally occupied. A series of such drives has taken place across several districts since Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed office in 2021.
Sarma’s government has argued it is trying to prevent what the government terms a “demographic invasion” by infiltrators. The Chief Minister has repeatedly stated that these evictions are not communal but are necessary to protect government and forest land from illegal occupation.
Previous evictions in Goalpara
Goalpara district itself has experienced multiple mega eviction drives to clear encroachments on forest land. For instance, a similar eviction drive to clear 140 hectares of forest land in the Paikan Reserve Forest in the district had been conducted on 12th July, and on 16th June, a drive to evict over 600 families from a wetland area in the district’s Hasila Beel had been conducted.
Sunday’s drive marks the first major eviction operation in two months. The campaign had slowed after the death of Assamese superstar singer Zubeen Garg on 19th September, which had dominated the headlines in the state since then.
But now, with the operation in Goalpara, the government seems eager to restart its land reclamation mission. Chief Minister Sarma even announced the fresh eviction drive during a Facebook Live session, stressing that his administration will continue these efforts despite public criticism and political pressure.
He said, “A lot of people had thought whether the evictions would be stopped. ‘We have brought so much pressure on Himanta Biswa Sarma, he will no longer have the courage to conduct evictions.’ I want to inform you that I cannot make you happy. On 9th and 10th November, in Goalpara’s Dahikata forest, evictions will begin.”
The land was divided into five segments to make the process more systematic. One of the blocks witnessed some resistance, but authorities said the situation was quickly brought under control. No major violence or injuries were reported during the operation.
Despite the criticism, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has remained firm on his stance. He has repeatedly said that reclaiming encroached land is necessary for Assam’s development and environmental conservation.
In several statements over the past year, Sarma has said that “public land belongs to the people of Assam” and that “illegal settlers cannot continue to occupy it in the name of religion or community.”
Sarma has also linked the issue to population pressure in some parts of Assam, claiming that unchecked migration and illegal settlements have caused environmental damage and social imbalance.
