India
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has once again raised serious concerns over what he claims is a systematic encroachment of land in the state by people from outside, including neighbouring states and even foreign countries. Addressing a press conference on Friday, Sarma alleged that settlers from as far as Manipur are migrating into Assam to occupy government and forest land, often under the guise of being locals.
“In Lakhimpur, where we recently conducted an eviction drive, we found 12 families from Manipur and Nagaon who had come to settle there,” Sarma said. “They were likely summoned by earlier encroachers, unaware that the area had already been cleared.” These families, he confirmed, will be sent back by the district commissioner.
The Chief Minister stressed that such encroachments are not accidental but follow a clear “design.” According to Sarma, a few individuals first occupy forest or government land, start cultivating crops like ginger or betel nut, and later bring in more settlers to form full-fledged illegal colonies. “There’s a pattern,” he added, citing examples from Lumding, Uriamghat in Golaghat, and Sribhumi in Hailakandi, where such cultivation-based land grabs have occurred.
Sarma alleged that many encroachers falsely claim to be from districts like Goalpara, while in reality, they may hail from West Bengal or even Bangladesh. “Earlier, there was no mechanism to stop Bangladeshi infiltration. Just yesterday, we caught 16 illegal Bangladeshis. It’s likely many encroachers are from there,” he stated.
He pointed out that many of these settlers disappear within 30-45 days, raising further suspicion about their origins. In Uriamghat, where the government is preparing for a large-scale eviction, Sarma said around 500 families have taken over thousands of bighas of forest land. Many of them are reportedly from central Assam’s Dhing and Lahorighat areas and are cultivating betel nut—some allegedly mixing Myanmar-origin ‘supari’ with local produce for resale.
The Chief Minister also targeted government officials and local political leaders for inaction. “Three forest rangers posted in the area belonged to the same community as the encroachers. I will take action. That’s why I’m the Chief Minister,” he asserted. He further blamed local politicians for turning a blind eye once settlements reach 5,000-10,000 people, turning them into potential vote banks.
Since Sarma’s government assumed office in May 2021, it has cleared 1,19,548 bighas of encroached land, affecting around 50,000 people. However, a staggering 63 lakh bighas—including 29 lakh bighas of forest land—remain under illegal occupation.
In a controversial statement, Sarma added that most encroachers belong to “one religion” and described the situation as an “invasion” threatening indigenous communities. Although he didn’t name any group, many of those evicted have been Bengali-speaking Muslims, sparking concerns of communal profiling.
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