Assam authorities reclaimed more than 300 hectares of reserve forest land and evicted over 500 families across Nagaon, Hojai and Golaghat districts on Saturday, in one of the state’s biggest single-day anti-encroachment operations in recent months.
The largest action took place in Borpani Reserve Forest in Nagaon, where officials cleared more than 200 hectares occupied by 336 families. Forest department officials said the families had migrated from neighbouring areas and settled inside the reserve forest nearly 30 years ago.
An eviction drive is scheduled to begin on Sunday in the neighbouring Lutumai Reserve Forest, where around 600 families had occupied more than 300 hectares. The forest department had issued a public notice in August, after which nearly 90% of the families reportedly vacated the area before the planned operation.
A senior forest department official said around 300 families in Lutumai had been temporarily settled there in 1973 after being evicted from Kaki Reserve Forest in the erstwhile Nagaon district. The official said the current action was being carried out in compliance with court orders. “About 300 families in Lutumai RF were purely encroachers, though 300 were given settlement on a temporary basis. But following court orders, all are being evicted,” the official said.
The operation in Hojai district involved the recovery of 70 hectares in Jamuna-Maudunga Reserve Forest. Authorities dismantled 152 households, including 61 pucca and 126 kutcha structures, affecting around 1,000 residents, according to the report. A senior forest department official said settlements had likely begun inside the reserve forest in the early 1980s, with residents from neighbouring villages entering the area to undertake agriculture.
The official said the settlements in Jamuna-Maudunga had existed for decades. Residents removed their belongings and moved to revenue land outside the protected forest area before Saturday’s operation.
In Golaghat district, authorities reclaimed around 37 hectares in the Doyang and Nambor South Reserve Forests. Officials cleared 35 hectares in the Negheribeel area of Doyang Reserve Forest, evicting 59 families and demolishing 60 structures. In Nambor South Reserve Forest, around two hectares were cleared at two locations.
The action in the Rajapukhuri area led to the eviction of three families and the dismantling of three structures. In the Gelajan area, nine families were evicted and nine structures were removed. The operations bring the question of long-standing settlement inside protected forests into immediate focus, while the next scheduled action in Lutumai is set to extend the enforcement drive beyond Saturday’s clearances.
