The Assam government on Tuesday initiated a massive eviction drive in the Rengma forest area of Golaghat district, aiming to demolish more than 2,600 allegedly illegal structures spread across 1,500 hectares of forest land. According to forest officials, over 4.2 hectares of encroached land were cleared on the first day alone, with 50 concrete houses and nearly 200 business establishments removed.
In total, 2,648 illegal houses across 12 villages within the reserve forest have been marked for eviction. The drive, considered one of the largest of its kind in Assam, is being carried out with extensive deployment of personnel and equipment. More than 100 excavators and Poclain machines are being used to remove the structures. The operation is concentrated in the forest belt near the Assam-Nagaland border in Uriamghat and is being conducted under heavy security due to the sensitive nature of the area.
Over 2,000 Assam Police personnel from various districts and 500 forest guards have been deployed to ensure law and order. Chief forest conservator MK Yadava, IGP Akhilesh Kumar Singh, and other senior officials were present on-site to supervise the operation. Yadava stated that the drive is being carried out in a phased and strategic manner. “This drive has been executed with proper planning and in adherence to all mandatory procedures,” he said.
The Rengma forest has long been a contested area, with frequent reports of encroachment leading to tensions along the Assam-Nagaland boundary. During a recent visit, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accused illegal settlers of clearing the forest for areca nut plantations. He also conducted an aerial drone survey to assess the damage. “We will collect names and addresses. If they’re genuinely from these districts, there’s no problem. But if they are not permanent residents, eviction will be mandatory,” Sarma said.
Sarma also alleged the involvement of a “Supari Mafia” in the destruction of the forest. “Encroachers, in collusion with an organised Supari Mafia, have replaced native sal and teak forests with areca nut plantations. They source Myanmar-dried supari, mix it with local produce, and market it as ‘Assam supari’ for inflated profits,” he wrote on X. He termed the situation an “alarming scale of organised encroachment” and remarked, “The list of encroachers is so long that I’m not sure I can clear them all, even if I remain chief minister for my entire life.”
This marks the third major eviction operation in Assam since July 8, following similar actions in Dhubri and Goalpara districts, where over 2,000 illegal houses were demolished.
Sources confirmed the presence of Nagaland Police, NAP, and IRB personnel, along with Wokha district officials led by the Border Magistrate of Ralan, during the eviction in Bidyapur market near Liphayan village, Wokha. The location falls under Section-C of the Disputed Area Belt (DAB).
(With inputs from HT)
