In Assam’s Darrang district, the local administration has resumed an eviction drive to clear land for the multi-crore Garukhuti agriculture project, a key initiative of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The current drive affects approximately 550 families, following a similar, violent operation in 2021 that resulted in two deaths and numerous injuries.
The renewed eviction efforts in the Sipajhar area began on Monday and are slated to continue through Wednesday.
The Garukhuti project, which occupies around 10,000 bighas of government land, is touted as a major agricultural endeavor and has been personally championed by CM Sarma.
In September 2021, an eviction drive in the same area displaced approximately 1,300 families, most of whom were Bengali Muslims.
This earlier operation led to significant unrest and casualties. Following the evictions, the Garukhuti project commenced, aiming to transform the cleared land into a productive agricultural zone.
One of the affected individuals, Mohammed Safer Ali, recounted his experience from the 2021 evictions.
After his home was demolished, Ali and his family erected a makeshift dwelling just 2.5 kilometers away from their previous residence.
On Monday, this temporary home was also demolished.
“For the last 15 days, we were being told by administration representatives that we will get one bigha of land somewhere. They have been telling us to take a token so that we go there and be allotted. But we have been telling them that we want to see the land first. Some of these places are 60 kilometers from here, and we want to see them before being shifted there,” Ali said, expressing the uncertainty and logistical challenges faced by the evicted families.
Munindra Nath Ngatey, the District Commissioner of Darrang, explained that the administration is relocating the affected families to various identified areas, including Dalgaon, Arimari, Shyampur, Magurmari, and Kalai Char.
Each household is promised one bigha of land for relocation.
In February 2022, the Assam government had announced plans to relocate over 2,000 evicted families to Dalgaon, also within Darrang district.
The Gauhati High Court has mandated the government to ensure the relocation of these families.
“There were almost 2,300 families in the area. Almost 1,750 had already been shifted earlier. Then the process had to stop because of elections. Now, after elections, some people have instigated the remaining households to not move. We have tried to make them understand that the majority of the people have shifted and we need to clear this land for the government’s project. We sent 15 tractors today to carry the belongings of the people to the allocated areas,” Ngatey said.
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