Some of those evicted encroached upon acres of land, making indigenous people angry: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that a section of people who have been evicted during the recent anti-encroachment drives were living on acres of forest land, which had created resentment among the indigenous population.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Kokrajhar, Sarma said that seeing the size of the land some of those evicted possessed had made his head reel.

''Some of them had occupied 200 to 300 bighas (8 to 9 acres) of land individually. Why will this not make anyone angry?'' he asked.

''The situation in Uriamghat made me think of living in a farmhouse there and giving up being a chief minister,'' he said.

Sarma said that if poor people had settled on small plots, it would not have angered people, but occupying such large tracts of forest cannot be allowed.

The state government launched an eviction drive in June to clear encroachment on forest land, Village Grazing Reserves, Professional Grazing Reserves, and lands belonging to Satras and Namghars, among others.

Most of those displaced by the eviction drive are Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, derogatorily called the 'Miyas', who say their ancestors settled in these areas after losing land in the 'char' or riverine regions to erosion by the Brahmaputra.

Sarma said that the eviction drive is making people realise the distinction between what is right and what is wrong.

''I am not against sympathising with the 'Miyas'. I have extended benefits to them through various government schemes, but it is our responsibility to guide people in the right direction. They must understand that forest lands, VGRs and PGRs cannot be encroached upon,'' he said.

Sarma said they should remain where they originally lived and not move to Upper Assam or the northern parts of the state.

''The threat to Assam is from the demographic change that has taken place over the years, and this is evident from the change in the voters' list,'' he said.

He said the ''problem'' will be solved by the ''steps we have taken'', and ''we will slowly poison their system''.

''We have no animosity towards all those permanent residents who came here before 1971, and we have given affidavits in the court that those who came before are Indians,'' he said. Sarma said there have been no eviction drives in Dhubri or Goalpara, but all must acknowledge that forest lands should not be encroached upon.

''The destruction of forests is the very reason behind the unbearable heat today, and it is not only that we are sweating; the 'Miyas' are also facing the same problem,'' he said.

The CM said there was a massive protest when a single tree was chopped in Guwahati's Dighalipukhuri for building a flyover, but no one raised their voice when thousands of trees in forest areas were destroyed.

''As per law, except for tribal communities and families that have lived there for three generations, no one has the right to occupy forest lands. Let me remind you, this law was enacted by the Congress,'' Sarma said.

He said that along with minorities, people of other communities were also evicted during the drive in Uriamghat.

''It is, however, only the Miyas who protest and do not want to follow the law. This cannot be allowed as India is a country based on laws,'' he said.

''What we are doing today is constructive. It will help those who truly believe in justice, but those who choose to listen to the members of Assam Nagarik Samaj (organisers of the meeting attended by Prashant Bhushan and Sayeeda Hamid) will ultimately be misled,'' he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)