GUWAHATI: An eviction drive was carried out on Friday, April 4, in Kochutoli Pathar under Assam’s Sonapur revenue circle of Kamrup Metropolitan district, marking the second such operation in the area within the past seven months. The drive targeted illegal reoccupation of government land previously cleared in a multi-phase operation in September 2024.
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According to district officials, over 100 semi-permanent structures had re-emerged on land demarcated as part of the protected South Kamrup Tribal Belt. These included makeshift huts built with tarpaulins, tin sheets, and bamboo poles. The reoccupation was termed as a direct violation of a status quo order issued by the Gauhati High Court in response to petitions filed by individuals evicted last year.
Fridays’ operation saw the involvement of more than 100 personnel, including police and paramilitary forces. Two excavators and additional tractors were deployed to assist with the removal of encroachments. Officials confirmed that around 30 to 40 structures near a mosque, along with scattered encroachments in the No. 1 Kochutoli area, were cleared.
The authorities further clarified that no recognised or longstanding residences were affected in the drive. The evicted structures were recent and deemed to be in breach of both court orders and land regulations under Chapter X of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886, which protects tribal land from being settled by non-eligible individuals.
The earlier eviction drive in September 2024 had resulted in the clearance of over 1,200 bighas of land and removal of around 200 structures. That drive witnessed violent resistance, leading to the deaths of two individuals and injuries to nearly 40. Over 650 families, primarily Bengali-speaking Muslims who had settled in the area over past decades citing displacement due to river erosion, had been affected.
