Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has ordered families residing in Doyang and Nambor reserve forests of Assam’s Golaghat district to vacate the land within seven days, while directing the state government to create a stronger mechanism to prevent future encroachments.
A division bench of Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, in its order on Monday, said the families must vacate the forest land by Sunday. If they fail to comply, the state government has been authorised to carry out eviction proceedings.
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The case stemmed from petitions filed by 74 individuals who challenged the eviction notices issued by the district administration. The petitioners argued that the notices violated provisions of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886, the Assam Land Policy, 2019, and a Supreme Court order passed on December 13, 2024.
On August 5, the High Court had granted the petitioners 10 days to produce documentary evidence of their land rights. The bench noted that sufficient time had been provided and stressed that due process must be followed. For future eviction drives, the court directed authorities to issue a 15-day notice followed by another 15 days for voluntary relocation.
The bench also called for comprehensive measures to stop further encroachment in reserve forests. It recommended sealing entry points, fencing porous borders with barbed wire, setting up checkpoints, and ensuring constant surveillance.
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The court further warned that if illegal entry is detected, penal action should also be taken against negligent officials, including forest department staff.
Since June, the Assam government has carried out nine eviction drives, displacing more than 50,000 people from forest areas and other encroached lands.
Many of those affected, largely Bengali-speaking Muslims, claim they settled in reserve forests after losing their homes and farmland to erosion in flood-prone char areas of the Brahmaputra.