Assam Forest Department Issues Eviction Notice in Goalpara

Forest Department served fresh eviction notices to families living in the area Sonapur in Assam’s Goalpara on Friday, on land where villagers claim is covered under valid periodic patta (land settlement) documents.

According to residents, the notices direct them to vacate their homes within 15 days. The development has triggered panic and uncertainty among nearly 80 families who say they have been living on the land since 1960.

What has intensified concerns is that the land in question is not forest encroachment in the conventional sense, but periodic patta land, a category under which families were granted settlement rights decades ago. However, the Forest Department has reportedly stated that the pattas have been cancelled and the area now falls under the Dahikata Reserved Forest, making the occupation illegal in the eyes of the department.

Officials from the Goalpara Forest Division visited the locality and distributed the eviction notices earlier in the day. Soon after the notices were handed over. The department has asked residents to clear the area within 15 days. 

Many residents said their families have lived there for over six decades, building homes, raising children, and creating a community over generations. For them, the land is not just a piece of property, but the foundation of their lives.

The affected families have now demanded that the Forest Department provide alternative land and adequate compensation before carrying out any eviction drive. They argue that displacing long-settled families without rehabilitation would leave them homeless and push them into severe hardship.

Also Read: Assam Forest Department Issues Fresh Eviction Notices To 59 Families In Golaghat