Overview

• On June 25, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reaffirmed his “no compromise” stance and said more eviction drives would be launched over the next month to clear illegally occupied forest and wetland areas.
• The government reclaimed nearly 495 acres at Hasila Beel in Goalpara district following an eviction drive concluded on June 18.
• Officials say the campaign is part of a broader land reform agenda that seeks to return state-owned lands to indigenous people under the state’s ongoing National Register of Citizens process.
• Human rights groups and opposition parties have criticized the campaigns for using force without adequate rehabilitation plans and warned of a humanitarian toll.
• Sarma compared his campaign to former Chief Minister Bishnuram Medhi’s 1950s policies, asserting he is the only leader since that era to recover such a large expanse of encroached land.