GUWAHATI: The office of the District Commissioner, Kamrup Metropolitan, has issued a land requisition order for the construction of a 4-lane elevated corridor along GNB Road, from near Dighalipukhuri to Noonmati. The order, issued under Section 3(1) of the Assam Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1964, affects land in Ulubari, Sahar Guwahati Part-5, covering Dag Nos. 329 (Kha) and 348 (Kha), with a total area of 1 Katha 4.3 Lechas.
The requisition includes properties belonging to multiple recorded pattadars, including private landowners and the Assam Gana Parishad Bhawan. The move has triggered concern among local shopkeepers and residents, who allege that no prior notice or compensation-related communication has been made by the authorities.
Talking to GPlus, Subhash Jain, a long-time shop owner in the area said, “We received the notice just four days ago. There are two marks on the premises, which clearly indicate our shops will be affected. We still don’t know how much will be demolished. What’s more disturbing is that we haven’t received any compensation notice. There was no prior warning.”
The suddenness of the notice has left many shopkeepers in limbo. Several small businesses here have been running for decades, passed down generations—now caught between ambiguity and anxiety.
Beyond the commercial impact, residents are mourning another quiet casualty: the trees.
Talking to GPlus, another shopkeeper, seeking anonymity, pointed to age-old trees standing tall along the roadside, now bearing fluorescent marks of their fate. “They are 30 to 40 years old. I remember bringing two of them from Social Forestry myself. This stretch used to be a shaded refuge during summers."
“It’s heartbreaking. They say the roads will be widened and drains will be built, but in the process, they are erasing the soul of this place.”
The marked trees are not just greenery—they are memories, community landmarks, and guardians of the footpaths.
This requisition is part of the larger infrastructural expansion Guwahati has been undergoing in recent years. The under-construction flyover aims to decongest traffic and streamline connectivity along GNB Road, a route often choked during peak hours.
But as the concrete blueprint begins to unfold, locals are demanding transparency, dialogue, and compensation.
