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Congress Slams Assam Govt for "Unprecedented Debt Crisis" Under CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has stirred fresh debate by claiming that there is a “planned attempt” to change the demographic balance in certain areas of the state. This comes as the state government faces strong criticism over its ongoing eviction drives to clear what it calls illegal encroachments on government and forest land.
The latest eviction took place in the Paikan Reserve Forest area in Goalpara district on July 12, where over 1,080 families were evicted and around 2,700 structures demolished. The government claims around 140 hectares of land had been encroached.
Speaking to the media, CM Sarma said that during several eviction drives, officials found that people had come from far-off districts like Barpeta, Bongaigaon, South Salmara, and Karimganj, and settled in places dominated by Assamese-speaking Hindus or indigenous communities.
“If someone is landless, they usually look for land within their own district. But why are these people travelling hundreds of kilometres and settling in areas dominated by our majority population?” the Chief Minister asked. “Is this due to poverty or a larger political plan? That’s something we must study seriously.”
He warned that such migration patterns may not be random, but part of a deliberate move to reduce the indigenous population to a minority in their own homeland.
According to figures shared in the Assam Assembly, more than 3.35 lakh hectares of reserved forest land in the state have been encroached upon. The BJP-led government claims that nearly 8 lakh bighas of government land are still under illegal occupation, and that 1.2 lakh bighas have been cleared in the last four years.
The government has also carried out similar eviction drives in districts like Dhubri and Lakhimpur. In some areas like Garukhuti in Sipajhar, cleared land has been converted into agricultural projects involving local youth, and the government says it’s helping create jobs and generate revenue.
While the BJP says the evictions are part of their commitment to protect public land and Assam’s identity, opposition parties including Congress and AIUDF have slammed the government. They say that poor and landless people, many of them genuine Indian citizens, are being thrown out without any rehabilitation.
Opposition leaders allege that Bengali-speaking Muslims are being unfairly targeted in these operations. The BJP, however, argues that many of these settlers have occupied land illegally and that their sudden arrival in new districts is not a coincidence but a “well-organised plan.”
In an official statement, the BJP said, “People are being moved strategically from districts like South Salmara, Barpeta, and Srirampur into areas where the indigenous Assamese population is strong. This is a political move meant to change the voting pattern and make Assamese people minorities in their own land.”
They pointed to places like Sarupathar in Golaghat district, where major demographic changes have been reported due to settlements from Nagaon and other regions.
Apart from reclaiming land, the government says it is using some of the cleared land for development projects. At Batadrava Satra, the birthplace of saint Srimanta Sankardev, 130 bighas of land have been cleared and work is underway to build a cultural complex worth ₹186 crore.
In Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, evictions have helped bring back animals like rhinos, tigers, and elephants after decades. In another example, about 4,000 bighas of land cleared in Dhubri’s Chapar area have been set aside for a thermal power plant that the government claims will create over 20,000 jobs.
The eviction drives have sparked mixed reactions across Assam. While many locals support the government's effort to clear public land and restore forests, others believe the human cost is too high—especially when the evicted families are poor and have nowhere else to go.
Also Read: AIUDF Accuses Assam Govt of Targeted Evictions, Draws Parallels with Gaza