Assam has 27 lakh bighas of forest land under encroachment: Himanta

way2barak, Feb 12 : Nearly 26 to 27 lakh bighas of forest land in Assam are currently under encroachment, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.

He told media persons that the total areas requiring eviction would get reduced to around 20 lakh bighas after the regularisation of land rights of eligible indigenous people. Earlier, 1,25,326 bighas of forest land were cleared of encroachment.

“Even if it is a forest area, the Assam government has the right to give land rights to indigenous people. So, they must not be afraid. We will expedite forest pattas for them,” Sarma said.

He further stated that the process to carry out eviction got streamlined after a Supreme Court order issued on Tuesday. The court directed the constitution of a committee comprising forest and revenue officials.

“The said committee shall issue notice to the alleged unauthorised occupants and shall give them an opportunity to adduce evidence to show that they have the right to occupy the land which is in their possession. The action for removal of encroachment shall be taken, only if it is found that there is an encroachment in the reserved forest area,” the court said.

In case the person, who has been served a notice for eviction, is found to be within the revenue limits and outside the notified forest area, the person’s details will be sent to the revenue department for deciding on the future course of action.

“If an unauthorised occupation is found in a reserved forest area, after scrutiny of the documents, a speaking order shall be passed and (it) shall be served on the concerned person giving him 15 days’ notice to vacate the unauthorized occupation and only after expiry of the period of notice, the action shall be taken to remove the unauthorised occupants,” the court said, disposing of a batch of petitions in this regard.

Sarma viewed the court order as a “landmark decision” and a “historic victory” for Assam. “We will notify the committee today. The Assam government has taken a decision on forest restoration in the places where there will be eviction,” he said.