Guwahati, July 15: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday issued a sharp defence of the state’s controversial eviction drives, describing them as a necessary war against what he called a “land jihad” — a systematic campaign to encroach upon forests and alter Assam’s demographic balance.
Speaking to reporters in Guwahati, Sarma said the eviction operations have so far reclaimed over 1,19,548 bighas of land — approximately 160 square kilometres — since 2021, including vast tracts of reserve forests, government khas land, grazing areas, and religious land belonging to sattras and temples. The Chief Minister alleged that the encroachments were part of a larger conspiracy by a particular group to shift voter bases and establish demographic dominance in Upper Assam.
“This is not just about trees or land. This is about protecting jati, mati, bheti — our identity, our soil, our roots,” Sarma said. “Forest destruction is just a smokescreen. What’s really happening is a deliberate demographic invasion. And we’re stopping it.”
According to government data, 84,743 bighas of forest land were cleared, along with 26,713 bighas of khas land and 3,643 bighas of VGR and PGR land. An additional 4,400 bighas of religious land were reclaimed. Major eviction operations were carried out in Sonitpur (39,427 bighas), Lakhimpur (13,481 bighas), Darrang (17,905 bighas), Hojai (10,749 bighas), and Goalpara (8,880 bighas), among others.
Sarma alleged that many of the evicted families were not landless but had homes and property in other parts of Assam. He claimed settlers from Laharighat and other regions deliberately migrated to forested areas to claim land and change the voter composition.
In Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary, Sarma said illegal farms had wiped out plantations and cost the lives of ten rhinos. In Lumding Reserve Forest, he claimed that over 200 elephants have returned since the evictions. He also cited similar recovery of wildlife habitats in Orang Tiger Reserve, Pabha Reserve Forest, and Athibari RF, with thousands of hectares now being reforested.
Rejecting opposition claims that evictions were driven by corporate interests, Sarma said, “Animals are corporates for us. We are reclaiming this land for them.”
The state has cleared 2,112 hectares in Burachapori, 1,750 hectares in Pabha, 2,899 hectares in Orang, and 1,410 hectares in Lumding, he said. Another 130 hectares were reclaimed in Athibari earlier this year.
While Sarma said tribal communities with legitimate claims would be settled under the Forest Rights Act, he emphasized that over 60 percent of those encroaching on forest land are non-tribals and part of what he called an organized attempt to “plant settlements” that serve political motives.
The eviction drive, ongoing across multiple districts, has faced backlash from opposition parties and human rights groups for its scale and methods, with critics calling it harsh and inhumane. But Sarma dismissed the criticism, vowing to continue the campaign.
“Only one-fortieth of the work is done,” he said. “If we stop now, the forests will be gone and Assam will lose its soul.”
