Lakhimpur plans eviction drives at five sites between Nov 4 and 14

The Lakhimpur district administration in Assam has drawn up a schedule of eviction drives at five locations across the district between November 4 and November 14, as part of its campaign to clear encroachments from government land.

The schedule was laid out in an official communication issued by the revenue branch of the Deputy Commissioner's office on October 30, The Times of India reported. The drives will cover three revenue circles: Bihpuria, North Lakhimpur and Kadam.

The schedule

According to the communication, the operations are planned in this order:

• November 4: No. 1 Dharampur, Bihpuria Revenue Circle
• November 6: Balijan, North Lakhimpur Revenue Circle
• November 12: Boginadi Professional Grazing Reserve (PGR), Kadam Revenue Circle
• November 14: 9/6 Koilamari and Borbil, both in North Lakhimpur Revenue Circle

Professional Grazing Reserves are tracts of land set aside for graziers and their livestock. Encroachment on such reserves, as well as on village grazing land and other government land, has been a recurring issue in several Assam districts.

Police deployment sought

In a letter to Senior Superintendent of Police Gunendra Deka, the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Lakhimpur has asked for adequate police personnel to be deployed at each site to maintain law and order and to prevent any untoward incident during the drives.

The circle officers of the three revenue circles have been told to make the necessary arrangements and to coordinate with the police and other departments so that the exercises can be carried out smoothly.

The communication, as reported, did not say how many families or structures are likely to be affected at each location, or whether those living on the land have been served individual notices.

Part of a wider campaign

The Assam government has carried out a series of eviction drives in different districts over the past few years, saying it wants to free government, forest and grazing land from illegal occupation. Such operations have often drawn objections from opposition parties and from those facing eviction, who argue that families have lived on the land for decades.

Lakhimpur, on the north bank of the Brahmaputra in Upper Assam, borders Arunachal Pradesh. The district headquarters is North Lakhimpur.

NEInsider will update this report when the drives begin and the district administration shares details of the land cleared.