Assam evicts 299 families occupying govt land to set up solar power project

GUWAHATI: The Assam government on Saturday evicted 299 families squatting on about 1,000 bighas of government land at a riverine area (char) in Sonitpur district for setting up a 100-MW solar power project. The district administration carried out the eviction with multiple bulldozers in the presence of of a massive contingent of armed security personnel at No. 3 Sitolmari village under Borsola assembly constituency.
The administration has left two mosques and jute fields untouched for now. “We have asked the people to dismantle the two mosques themselves and harvest the jute in next seven to 10 days,” an official said.
“These families were encroaching on government land and eviction orders were issued to the them well in advance. Following this, we carried out the eviction,” the official said. More than half of the families have packed their belongings and left for their native places after receiving the eviction notice from the administration about eight months ago.
The official added, “The families have been occupying the land for several years illegally. They have come from different parts of the state, mostly from Morigaon and Hojai, where they still have their homes.”
“The eviction drive has been incident-free so far. There has been no law and order situation,” the official added.