Tezpur Authorities Demolish Illegal Constructions Along Marabharali River

TEZPUR: Authorities wielded the hammer against encroachers along the banks of the Marabharali river in Parowa, Tezpur in Sonitpur district, targeting the extravagant constructions of the controversial Dr Mazaharul Sultan, and his associates. These individuals had long controlled the administration, establishing a commercial empire on government land, sources said.

For years, they filled the land along the Marabharali River in Tezpur to carry out illegal constructions. Sonitpur district administration, at the request of the Tezpur Development Authority, deployed bulldozers on Sultan Model Market and Mahi Ice Factory. How Sultan managed to build such a commercial empire on government land with apparent ease over the past 20-25 years is a mystery. According to the Tezpur Urban Development Authority, a total of 7 bighas of land was illegally constructed upon, with 4 bighas being government land.

Tezpur Development Authority chairman Biraj Nath stated that despite an eviction order from the administration over the past eight years, Sultan approached the Guwahati High Court in 2017 and sought a stay order on the matter.

Subsequently, based on an appeal from the Development Authority, the High Court ruled in favour of the Development Authority last March. Following this, the district administration, in collaboration with the Development Authority, rolled out bulldozers on the illegal constructions on Friday. Nath further said that even after receiving the High Court’s directive last March, it took nearly four months for the Tezpur Development Authority to carry out the eviction of illegal constructions, raising further questions. The 7 bighas of encroached land lie on the banks of the Marabharali River, which previously had been used for cultivating boro rice.

Moreover, due to the extensive encroachments and the construction of various markets and permanent residences, the area has posed a significant threat to the traffic flow on National Highway 37 (A).

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