Congress urges World Bank, ADB to suspend funding over land rights row in Assam

Guwahati, June 26: Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia has urged the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to suspend funding to what he termed as “illegal land acquisitions impacting indigenous communities” in the State.

In a formal communication addressed to the World Bank and the ADB, Saikia has called for an immediate independent audit and suspension of funding to development projects in Assam that he asserted “are violating constitutional protection of indigenous land rights, key Supreme Court rulings, and environmental legislation”.

The letter highlights two projects currently under way in Assam – at Borduar Bagan village in Kamrup district and Parbatjhora in Kokrajhar district.

“The Assam government plans to transfer 1,500 acres of land to the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) for a proposed township project. The allocated land has been inhabited by Rabha, Bodo, Tea, and other indigenous communities for over a century. This transfer violates the Assam (Temporarily Settled Areas) Tenancy Act, 1971, and has been launched without the consent of the local indigenous population. This raises questions about the government’s commitment to the indigenous communities and environment,” Saikia stated regarding the Borduar Bagan village.

With regard to Parbatjhora, he stated, “The BTR government has allocated 3,600 bighas of tribal land to the Adani Group for a thermal power plant. This allocation has been made without consulting the Bodo, Rabha, and Garo communities who reside in the area. This is a direct violation of the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The proposed project also threatens to destroy over 5,00,000 sal and teak trees, intensifying fears over environmental degradation.”

Citing judgments such as Samatha versus State of Andhra Pradesh (1997) and Orissa Mining Corporation versus Ministry of Environment and Forests (2013), as well as the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, Saikia emphasized the legal precedent requiring consent from tribal communities before any land acquisition.

In his appeal, Saikia urged the financial institutions to immediately review and suspend any funding until full legal compliance is established, as well as to commission an independent audit of the acquisition processes and environmental impacts to mandate meaningful community consultations, and to take corrective measures to protect indigenous rights and the environment.

“These land acquisitions are a clear violation of constitutional protections and a direct assault on the dignity and rights of Assam’s indigenous communities. Institutions like the World Bank and the ADB must ask if they are funding progress or if they are financing the destruction of indigenous lives and ecosystems. We are not anti-development. We are against unjust, unlawful development. It is time for funding agencies to live up to their own principles,” he said.