A massive eviction drive was launched by the Assam administration on Saturday in Nagaon district to clear encroachments from 795 hectares of reserved forest land. The drive has affected nearly 1,500 families, as reported by the officials.
In the wee hours, the operation was conducted in the Lutimari area under a heavy security presence. The eviction notice, as said by the officials, was first issued three months ago, ordering them to vacate within two months.
Over 1,100 families had borne the burns of eviction, including both pucca and kuccha houses, and illegal structures were uprooted, making 2,070 kuccha houses and 192 brick houses and structures, including the seven Anganwadi centers, two lower primary schools, and a primary health care and water treatment plant of the mission, which were also dismantled.
Most of the displaced people hail from the Bengali-speaking Muslim minority and claim that they have been living in the area since their ancestors.
The drive-in was conducted in areas like the Bedetipar, Sankhula, Jurirpar, and Kendapara villages in the Greater Lutumari Forest Reserve with around 50 bulldozers, and around 70 percent of the residents of these villages had already vacated.
Evictions in Paikan Village
On July 12, 2025, the Goalpara district administration carried out a large-scale eviction in Bidyapara and Betbari under Paikan village, Krishnai Forest Range, displacing nearly 1,100 Muslim families who had lived in the area for generations.
The drive, aimed at removing alleged encroachments on Paikan Reserve Forest land, went ahead despite an interim order from the Gauhati High Court a day earlier, which had instructed the authorities to ensure temporary shelter, food, and accommodation until proper rehabilitation was arranged.
As a result, between 5,500 and 6,600 people were left homeless, based on average family size estimates. Those affected belong entirely to the ‘Deshi’ Muslim community, recognized as an indigenous group in Assam. Officials stated that around 1,038 bighas of land were cleared to make way for a bamboo plantation.
Evictions in Lakhimpur
On July 3, 2025, authorities in Lakhimpur district carried out an eviction drive to clear alleged encroachments on Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) land across four sites—Debera Doloni, Siringsuk, Dhakuakhonia, and Raang Chali. The operation reclaimed roughly 235 bighas (around 78 acres) of land and displaced about 220 families. Among those affected were 21 indigenous households, while the majority were Muslim families, both Bengali- and Assamese-speaking.
Evictions in Dhubri District
On July 8, 2025, the Assam government carried out one of its largest single-day eviction operations, removing an estimated 2,000–3,000 Bengali-origin Muslim families from the villages of Sontoshpur, Chirakuti, and Charua Bakhra under the Chapar revenue circle of Dhubri district. Nearly 4,000 bighas of land were cleared in the drive, which officials said was meant to make way for a solar power project by the Adani Group. The move rendered about 20,000 people homeless—families who had been living there for four to five decades, many of them originally displaced by Brahmaputra floods and erosion.
Evictions in Nalbari
On June 30, 2025, the Nalbari district administration removed 93 Bengali-origin Muslim families from Bakrikuchi village under the Barkhetry Revenue Circle, leaving them homeless. Officials alleged the families were encroaching on government land. Deputy Commissioner Nibedan Das Patowary said the drive was conducted to clear around 453 bighas of village grazing reserve (VGR) land in the area.
