The Assam Tribune impact: Joint inspection held in Jorhat’s encroachment-hit Dissoi Forest

Jorhat, Jul 6: The Assam and Nagaland administrations conducted a long-awaited joint ground inspection in Jorhat’s Dissoi Valley Reserved Forest, following repeated reports of illegal encroachment by alleged Naga settlers, on Saturday.

The Assam team was led by the Titabar Sub-Divisional Police Officer and the Range Forest Officer of Mariani, while the Nagaland delegation was headed by the Mokokchung Sub-Divisional Police Officer.

The inspection comes just days after an arson incident in the forest area near Mariani’s Nagajanka tea garden, where alleged settlers reportedly set fire to forest patches and planted rubber saplings.

Officials from the Assam side stated that the Nagaland administration has been marking the historical Dulal Borah forest inspection path as a "border line" — a claim strongly refuted by local residents. They argue that this is a deliberate move to legitimise encroachment deeper into Assam’s protected forest land.

“This forest trail was laid decades ago for patrolling. Now it's being misrepresented to gradually push the border into our territory. The locals are agitated, but they believe this ground visit will lead to concrete action,” a forest officer told The Assam Tribune.

During the visit, Assam officials reportedly warned their Nagaland counterparts that any settlers attempting to reoccupy the cleared areas would face detention.

While the inspection has provided some reassurance to the border residents, many emphasise that temporary steps are not enough to deter future incursions.

“The Assam government must reclaim every inch of occupied land. Only then will we feel safe in our own homes,” said a villager living near the disputed area.

Residents say they have endured such incursions since the creation of Nagaland in 1963, but expressed cautious optimism after witnessing officials take action on the ground.

“We saw police and forest officers meet the Nagaland side and warn them about future encroachments. This is our land. It’s reserved forest. We don’t want shifting cultivation here. If the Ayodhya issue can be settled, why not this one too?” said another local.

The Assam Tribune has been consistently reporting on alleged encroachments in the Dissoi Valley Reserved Forest near Mariani, where forest land is reportedly being cleared to make way for rubber plantations.

On July 3, a delegation from the Tai Ahom Students’ Union visited the sites and expressed serious concern over what they described as unchecked occupation of Assam’s forest land.

Earlier, on June 27, residents of Mariani accused armed groups from Nagaland of forcibly clearing land in the Nagajanka area to set up plantations — a pattern that echoes the earlier Vikto and Akahuto settlements, both allegedly established by armed settlers from across the border.

According to locals, as recently as June 11, around 15 houses were constructed near the New Sonowal Forest Office and the Border Observation Post by alleged encroachers.

Despite the alarming developments, authorities have yet to deploy additional security forces or initiate formal inter-state dialogue to defuse the escalating tensions.

The issue of land encroachment by alleged Naga miscreants in the area is not new. Over the past two years, several instances of border skirmishes, including cases of firing and abductions, have been reported from the region.