"Congress Government helped encroachers in Kaziranga" says Himanta

State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday allegedly said that encroachment of government lands in places like Kaziranga and Mayong has a bigger plan which is aimed at “demographic destabilization.” Himanta also accused the previous Government of violating court orders by taking up work on road construction at Bandardubi, even after the eviction orders issued by the Gauhati High Court in 2015. Commenting on the situation, Himanta said, “There is a larger plan of moving towards upper Assam. It is part of a larger conspiracy. It is for benefit of those who want to win elections by using their (encroachers) vote.” Sarma further said that that the 300 families who are currently occupying government lands in Mayong, would soon be evicted. Sarma added that even after the High Court order of 2015, the then State Government continued to build a road at Bandardubi. “They set up LP school and anganwadi centre there. They even set up a voting centre there. When our government came to power, we stopped work on the road. The people of the State were kept in the dark by the previous government,” he said. “The Congress government was responsible not only for wastage of public funds but also for violation of the court order,” he added. The minister said that as per the Central Government’s land acquisition policy, eligible people will get compensation irrespective of caste, creed and community.