Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has assured resettlement to households that had settled in Silsako prior to the enactment of the Guwahati Water Bodies (Preservation and Conservation) Act, 2008.
The decision was made following a meeting between the chief minister and 19 developmental committees of Silsako in Dispur on Thursday.
Speaking about the development, one of the members from the committee said, “The meeting turned out to be very positive, this is for the first time that a chief minister had showed some responsibility towards the citizens. He assured resettlement to those households who have settled next to Silsako lake before the enactment of the Guwahati Water Bodies (Preservation & Conservation) Act, 2008. The chief minister also mentioned about the compensation to families who had settled at Silsako after the enactment of the water bodies act, however, he didn’t showed concern about their resettlement.”
Further, CM Sarma also assured the committees to acquire lands from people occupying more lands and divide it amongst the evicted families and directed the Kamrup Metro Administration and GMDA to submit maps related to demarcation within next 10 days.
The meeting was also attended by Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) chairman Narayan Deka and Kamrup metro deputy commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha.
It is to be noted that in 2008, the government declared the Silsako Lake a protected waterbody and prohibited any construction or settlement in around 1,800 bighas of the surrounding area.
This means that any activities that could potentially harm or damage the lake or its surrounding ecosystem, such as building structures or establishing human settlements, are not allowed within the protected area.
Earlier, as a part of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority’s (GMDA) effort to make the Guwahati city flood free, around 250 houses that are been illegally constructed on Silsako Beel near the Chanchal area of VIP road were evicted last Monday.
According to GMDA, there are around 1800 bighas of land in Silsako Beel, of which 1200 bighas of land are under the clutches of encroachers.
Speaking to the media in this regard, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Chairman, Narayan Deka said, “A total of 1200 bighas of land in Silsako is under the control of encroachers. At this point of time, it is not possible to evict everyone in a single go. Those within 100 meters between the water channels on the periphery of Silsako Beel upto Narengi will be evicted from Monday.”
Later, Gauhati High Court had stayed the eviction drive at the Silsako in Guwahati till March 3 following an appeal by 12 families residing in the area.
