Mass Eviction in Assam’s Nagaon: 1,500 Bengali Muslim Families Displaced
Administration clears 795 hectares of reserved forest land, leaving hundreds of families homeless.
Nagaon (Assam): In a large-scale eviction drive on Saturday, the district administration in Assam’s Nagaon cleared alleged encroachments from 795 hectares of reserved forest land. The operation mainly affected around 1,500 Bengali-speaking Muslim families who had been living in the Luitmariga area for several decades.
According to officials, the families were served eviction notices three months ago and were asked to vacate the land within two months. The residents had requested an additional month, which the administration granted. On the day of the eviction, authorities said more than 1,100 families had already dismantled their homes and left, while the remaining structures were demolished by government teams.
Many of those displaced said they have nowhere to go and urged the government to provide rehabilitation. Several families told the media they feel abandoned without any alternative arrangements.
One resident said:
“We have no place to go. If the government had given us some kind of housing, it would have helped. We obeyed the order and left on our own, but now we need rehabilitation.”
Residents also claimed their families had been settled in the area for generations after losing their original land to erosion caused by the Brahmaputra River.
Government’s Position
Special Chief Secretary of the Forest Department, M.K. Yadava, said the eviction was necessary to reduce rising human–elephant conflict and to protect the forest ecosystem.
Since the BJP came to power in Assam in 2016, several major eviction drives have taken place—many of them targeting Bengali-origin Muslim settlements. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently stated that around 160 sq km of land has been cleared of “encroachers” since May 2021.
The latest eviction has sparked concerns among rights groups, who are questioning whether vulnerable communities are being disproportionately targeted. They have also raised urgent queries about rehabilitation plans, temporary shelter for thousands of displaced people, and the welfare of affected women, children and elderly residents.
