1.9 L bighas of govt land encroached in Nagaon; eviction drives yet to reach district
Dhing, Kaliabor, Rupahi, Kampur & Raha are among the areas where land has been encroached
Raha, July 9: At a time when the government is taking strong action against encroachers of government land across the State, no such urgency has been shown by the government and the district administration to free illegally occupied government land in Nagaon district.
According to data presented by Assam’s Revenue Minister while replying to a question raised by Nagaon MLA Rupak Sarmah in the State Assembly, altogether 1,90,710 bighas of government land have been encroached in Nagaon district.
The encroached land includes 7,707 bighas, 18 kathas of revenue land, 34,596 bighas, 8 lessas of land on rivers, beels, and water bodies, and 1,48,220 bighas, 9 lessas of grazing land. The data was submitted by Revenue Minister Jogen Mohan in 2023 during a session of the Assam Legislative Assembly.
The data provided by the minister revealed that among the seven revenue circles in the district, the Dhing revenue circle alone has 1,535 bighas, 2 kathas, 17 lessas of land on rivers and water bodies, 2,987 bighas, 1 katha of grazing land, and 15,000 bighas of government land that have been encroached.
In the Kaliabor revenue circle, 63 bighas of land on the river Kolong, 2,216 bighas, 4 kathas, 14 lessas of grazing land, and 39,000 bighas, 2 kathas of government land have been encroached.
Encroachers have occupied 1,602 bighas, 3 kathas, 12 lessas of land on water bodies, 675 bighas, 4 kathas, 10 lessas of grazing land, and 1,665 bighas, 2 kathas, 5 lessas of government land in the Rupahi revenue circle.
In the Kampur revenue circle, 3,346 bighas, 1 katha, 12 lessas of land on rivers and water bodies, 15,389 bighas, 1 lessa of grazing land, 887 bighas, 7 lessas of forest land, and 58,536 bighas, 2 kathas, 9 lessas of government land have been encroached.
In the Nagaon Sadar revenue circle, 8 bighas, 4 kathas, 10 lessas of land on Morakolong, 30 bighas, 2 kathas, 18 lessas of land on the river Kolong, 7 bighas, 10 lessas of land on the river Sonai, 622 bighas, 4 lessas of land on water bodies, 5,511 bighas, 1 katha, 10 lessas of grazing land, and 9,336 bighas, 1 katha, 6 lessas of government land remain under encroachment.
In the Raha revenue circle, 371 bighas, 2 kathas, 3 lessas of land on rivers and water bodies and 6,444 bighas, 4 kathas of grazing land have been encroached. Even though no forest land is under encroachment, altogether 1,030 bighas, 2 kathas, 10 lessas of government land have been encroached.
Similarly, 122 bighas, 4 kathas, 14 lessas of land on rivers and water bodies and 1,370 bighas, 4 kathas, 13 lessas of grazing land have been encroached in the Samaguri revenue circle. Altogether 23,650 bighas, 4 kathas, 19 lessas of government land have been occupied in the revenue circle by illegal settlers.
According to the data, eviction drives were carried out in 4,567 bighas, 4 kathas of grazing land and 946 bighas, 2 kathas, 5 lessas of encroached government land in the district.
It is pertinent to mention that the revenue circle officer of Dhing recently issued notices to encroachers in Alitangani and Balisatra, asking them to vacate the land within seven days. However, the encroachers have not paid any attention to the notices as yet.
The issue has raised questions about the district administration’s inaction against encroachers, despite the State government’s efforts to evict illegal settlers in other districts.
- By Dibya J Borthakur