In a welcome move, the Assam government has evicted Bangladeshi settlers who had encroached on the properties belonging to Hindu satras (monasteries). CM Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the encroached area and assured that his government is committed to protecting “the state’s land, identity, culture, language and heritage from encroachers and illegal migrants”.
BJP had promised in its manifesto to form a task force to recover the encroached properties of satras and other places of worship of the indigenous people from illegal immigrants. As per reports available, around 231 bighas and 6 kathas (76 acre) of satra lands are encroached across the state.
The previous BJP government, under the leadership of the then CM Sarbananda Sonawal, amended the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886. The amendment empowers the deputy commissioners of the respective districts to free satra lands and temple properties from encroachment, while the old law only allowed them to recover government lands.
120 bigha land of the temple under encroachment of illegal occupants in the area have been freed by @assampolice and district administration. Such squatters would be evicted from all parts of Assam to protect our land and the Assamese identity from encroachers & intruders. 2/3 pic.twitter.com/ysAmxe5DLO
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 7, 2021
On June 6, 120 bighas(40 acre) of land belonging to the Dhalpur Shiva temple in Darrang district was cleared of encroachment from illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. 60 bighas of land is yet to be recovered and CM Sarma made an appeal to the encroachers to willfully vacate the land. He also visited the Shiva temple and assured that ‘the management committee would be entitled to decide how to utilise the temple’s land and earn revenue’.
(Featured Image Source: Twitter)
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