Guwahati: The Hailakandi district administration on Monday launched a large-scale eviction drive to clear alleged encroachments on over 2,800 bighas of reserved forest land at Damcherra, under the Gharmura forest range along the Mizoram border.
Officials said the operation, scheduled to continue until February 4, initially affected 522 families, though several households vacated voluntarily ahead of the drive, reducing the number of affected families to 516.
The first phase focused on clearing betel nut plantations across six forest villages, which have been divided into seven sectors. Eviction was carried out in three sectors on Monday, with the remaining sectors scheduled for Tuesday. Any pending work is expected to be completed on the third day following discussions with residents.
“Many families are vacating the marked areas with their belongings. The administration is fully prepared, with medical teams and ambulances on standby, and barricades placed to ensure smooth conduct of the operation,” said a local resident.
Divisional Forest Officer (Hailakandi) Akhil Dutta emphasised that the operation is being conducted strictly under the law. Eviction notices were issued a month in advance. “Some residents submitted documents, but none could establish legal possession of the reserved forest land. The Gauhati High Court had granted ten days to present their case, but the documents provided were again found invalid,” he said.
To maintain law and order, the administration has deployed over 1,500 police and paramilitary personnel, along with around 150 bulldozers. Dutta added that the drive in sectors 5, 6 and 7 was underway on Monday, while sectors 1 to 4 would be taken up on Tuesday.
Hailakandi district has two reserved forests — Katakhal Reserved Forest and Inner Line Reserved Forest. Encroachments were identified in the latter, and the administration said the operation is proceeding peacefully with coordination among forest officials, police, and magistrates.
Meanwhile, local social worker Saleh Ahmed Mazumder of the SM Humanity Educational Foundation claimed that several affected families have been residing on the land since 1965. Katlicherra MLA Suzam Uddin Laskar appealed to the community to support the displaced families.
In view of the eviction drive, District Commissioner Abhisekh Jain has imposed restrictions across Hailakandi district until February 5 under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, equivalent to the earlier Section 144 of the CrPC. Damcherra is located about 55 km from Hailakandi town.