Guwahati: Protests have intensified in Assam’s Goalpara district over an alleged government proposal to make a large portion of the Rakhyasini Reserve Forest available for industrial development.
Local residents and protesters have opposed the reported proposal to allot around 550 hectares of forest land for industries, arguing that indigenous and landless communities living in the area for decades are still awaiting land rights and pattas.
The protesters alleged that tribal communities, including Rabhas and Bodos, as well as families displaced by riverbank erosion, have been residing in the area and depending on agriculture for their livelihoods.
They said these communities have maintained a longstanding association with the land but have not been granted formal land rights.
The protesters also accused the government of adopting a double standard by taking action against indigenous residents in the name of forest protection while allegedly making forest land available to industrialists.
They demanded that the reported proposal be withdrawn at the upcoming meeting of the Land Advisory Board at the Goalpara Deputy Commissioner’s office.
A memorandum outlining their demands was submitted to the Deputy Commissioner.
The protesters said they would intensify their agitation if the alleged proposal was not withdrawn. They announced plans for democratic programmes, including civil disobedience and “Jail Bharo” protests, in the coming days.
They also said they were prepared to face severe consequences in their campaign to protect the land and safeguard the interests of indigenous and landless communities.
The protests come ahead of the upcoming Land Advisory Board meeting, where the protesters plan to demand withdrawal of the reported proposal to make the forest land available for industrial purposes.