Eviction Drive Launched on 2,800 Bighas of Forest Land in Assam's Hailakandi

A large-scale eviction drive was launched by the Hailakandi district administration on Monday to remove alleged encroachments from over 2,800 bighas of reserved forest land at Damcherra, an area falling under the Gharmura forest range along the Assam–Mizoram border.

Officials said the eviction exercise, scheduled to continue until February 4, initially covered 522 families. However, after several households vacated the land voluntarily ahead of the operation, the number of affected families has come down to 516.

According to officials, the first phase of the drive focused on clearing betel nut plantations spread across the forest land. The eviction zone, which includes six forest villages, has been divided into seven sectors to facilitate the operation. On Monday, eviction was carried out in three sectors, while the remaining sectors are slated for action on Tuesday.

Divisional Forest Officer (Hailakandi) Akhil Dutta said the eviction was being conducted strictly as per legal provisions. He stated that notices had been served a month in advance, and affected residents were given ample opportunity to present documents.

“Some individuals submitted papers, but none could establish lawful ownership of reserved forest land. The Gauhati High Court had granted ten days to produce valid records, but the same documents were resubmitted and found inadmissible,” Dutta said.

To maintain law and order during the operation, the administration has deployed over 1,500 personnel from the police and paramilitary forces, supported by around 150 bulldozers, officials confirmed.

Dutta added that eviction activities were underway in sectors five, six and seven on Monday, while sectors one to four would be covered the next day.

“If anything remains after that, it will be addressed on the third day following consultations,” he said.

Providing background, the forest officer said Hailakandi district has two reserved forests—Katakhal Reserved Forest and Inner Line Reserved Forest—and the present eviction pertains to encroachments identified in the Inner Line Reserved Forest.

“The occupants failed to produce valid land records. Many families have moved out on their own, and the operation is being carried out peacefully with coordination among the district administration, forest officials, police and magistrates,” Dutta said.

Meanwhile, a local social worker from Gharmura, Saleh Ahmed Mazumder of the SM Humanity Educational Foundation, claimed through a social media post that several affected families had been living on the land since 1965.

Katlicherra MLA Suzam Uddin Laskar appealed to people across communities to extend support to those displaced by the eviction.

In view of the operation, District Commissioner Abhisekh Jain has imposed restrictions across Hailakandi district under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita—equivalent to the earlier Section 144 of the CrPC—till February 5.

Damcherra is located around 55 kilometres from Hailakandi town.

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