Guwahati, Aug 20: Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday expressed his gratitude to Gauhati High Court for its critical observation on offering 3,000 bighas (nearly 1,000 acres) of land to a cement company in Dima Hasao district.
In a post on X, the Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha also lamented that such practices of giving away large parcels of land to corporates have been going on in all major districts and Sixth Schedule areas of Assam.
The Gauhati High Court last week slammed the Assam government for allotting 3,000 bighas of land to a private cement factory in the state’s tribal-majority Dima Hasao district, and observed whether “it was a joke”.
“The Hon’ble Gauhati High Court expressed profound concern upon learning that 3,000 bighas of land was granted to a private entity to establish a cement factory in the NC Hills,” Gogoi said.
The High Court thereafter directed the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC), which is spread across Dima Hasao, to obtain the records containing the policy to allot such a huge chunk of land to the cement factory, he noted in the post.
“We express our deepest gratitude to the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court for its vigilant guardianship of the constitutional principles and its unwavering commitment to upholding the rule of law.
“Unfortunately, this is a practice in all major districts and Sixth Schedule areas of Assam,” Gogoi said.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi said in his order that a cursory glance at the facts of the case reveals that the land which has been allotted is about 3,000 bighas “which itself appears to be extraordinary”.
During the hearing of the petition, the judge said, “3,000 bighas! What is going on? 3,000 bighas allotted to a private company? What kind of decision is this? Is this some kind of joke or what?”
This could be the area of the entire district, the judge said in an observation, while hearing two sets of writ petitions last week. (PTI)
