Gauhati High Court declines to interfere in Sipajhar evictions

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has declined to intervene in the Assam Cabinet's decision to evict around 700 families from Sipajhar in the Darrang district in order to set up an agro farm/model project at the site.

A Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justice Achintya Malla Bujor Barua and Justice Robin Phukan closed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Congress MLA and Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, stating that "after perusal of the PIL petition as well as hearing the learned counsel for the petitioner, no material nor any ground could be pointed out to enable the Court to arrive at any such conclusion so as to interfere with a Cabinet decision of the Government of Assam to set up an agro farm/model project at Sipajhar".

Regarding the plea made by Saikia in the PIL for issuing of certain directives for rehabilitation of, and payment of compensation to the affected families, the Bench observed that 600 of the affected families have been provided with alternative land and resettled by the Government, while some out of the remaining evicted families are said to already possess alternative plots of land.

As such, the Bench directed that these 100 families may apply for land before the Deputy Commissioner of Darrang, and "it is for the Deputy Commissioner to pass his own reasoned orders on the individual facts and circumstance of each of the applications".

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