Gauhati HC Stays Uriamghat Eviction Till August 7; State Asked to Respond

In a significant development, the Gauhati High Court on Tuesday granted temporary relief to the petitioners in the Uriamghat eviction case by extending the deadline for compliance with the eviction notice until August 7, 2025. The court has also issued a notice to the Assam Government, seeking its response on the matter.

The legal intervention comes amid what is being described as Assam’s largest eviction drive in recent years, launched by the Golaghat district administration in the Rengma Reserved Forest along the Assam-Nagaland border near Uriamghat.

According to official sources, the eviction operation, which began on Tuesday, involves an unprecedented deployment of over 2,000 Assam Police personnel and nearly 500 forest protection staff. More than 100 excavators have been mobilised for the drive, which targets alleged encroachments across 12 villages comprising a total of 2,648 houses. Authorities claim the structures were constructed illegally within protected forest land by suspected encroachers.

The villages identified for eviction include:

• Sonaribil Top

• 2 No. Pithaghat

• 2 No. Dayalpur

• 3 No. Dayalpur

• Dalanpathar

• Kherbari

• Bidyapur

• Bidyapur Bazar

• 2 No. Madhupur

• Anandapur

• Rajapukhuri

• Gelajan

District officials confirmed that the eviction process would start from Bidyapur and gradually extend to the remaining villages. The administration maintains that the operation is essential to reclaim government forest land and halt further encroachments in the ecologically sensitive Rengma forest zone.

Security arrangements have been significantly ramped up, with reinforcements brought in from multiple districts including Sivasagar, Merapani, Tinsukia, and Golaghat. Several senior officials, including Additional Superintendents of Police, Deputy Superintendents of Police, and Assistant Commissioners, are currently stationed at Sarupathar to supervise the ground-level execution of the drive.

The eviction has triggered widespread public attention and concern, particularly from civil society groups and rights activists who have questioned the timing, humanitarian implications, and the legal safeguards provided to those being displaced. With the High Court now stepping in, all eyes are on the government’s forthcoming response and the future course of this high-stakes operation.

This is a developing story.

Also Read: Golaghat Administration Begins Massive Eviction Drive in Uriamghat