Guwahati: The Axom Nagarik Samaj on Thursday vehemently condemned recent government eviction drives in Assam’s Dhubri and Goalpara, alleging a land grab conspiracy favoring multinational corporations under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s leadership.
In a press release, the organization asserted that the evictions are part of a broader pattern of land alienation benefiting big businesses over ordinary citizens.
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“Since the BJP’s coming to power under Himanta Biswa Sarma, there is a clear conspiracy to hand over the land of Assam to multinationals,” the statement read.
The Axom Nagarik Samaj cited several examples, including the proposed Barduar satellite town under the Rabha-Hasong Autonomous Council, the allocation of land to Ambani for a solar power project in Lankathar (Karbi Anglong), and the alleged handover of indigenous land in Parbatjhora and Kaziranga to multinational entities.
The Samaj specifically highlighted the government’s recent displacement of a large number of people in Dhubri district, alleging the government is handing the land over to the Adani Group for thermal power projects.
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The statement emphasized, “Multinationals are grabbing land, and we cannot separate this from that process.”
“The Axom Nagarik Samaj condemns the government’s conspiracy to deprive ordinary farmers of their land rights and turn them into cheap labourers in such mega projects run by multinational corporations.”
The organization also drew attention to the historical context of land ownership in Assam, noting that a significant number of farmers and non-farmers, particularly from tribal and semi-tribal communities, lack formal land rights (pattas).
They explained this happened due to people historically lacking the concept of private land and could not pay land revenue, which led authorities to label them “encroachers” even after centuries of occupation.
The statement also acknowledged that natural disasters like floods and erosion forced a large number of immigrant Muslims in Assam to settle on government lands. “Axom Nagarik Samaj realizes we cannot view the process of ‘encroachment’ on government land in isolation from this context,” it stated.
The Samaj stressed the urgent need to grant land rights to indigenous farmers and others to resolve this complex issue. However, they lamented, “Unfortunately, the present government is doing just the opposite by handing over land everywhere to the corporations owned by Advanis and Ambanis.”
“We strongly condemn this policy of the government,” the statement from the Axom Nagarik Samaj added.