Eviction drives in Assam hit by cash crunch, meditation forest a distant dream

GUWAHATI: At a time when Dispur has set an ambitious target of creating 1,000-tree "tapovan" (meditation forests) across the State, the Forest department is struggling with fund crunch to carry out eviction drives to clear encroachments in the reserve forests (RFs).

Non-sanctioning of funds in time is one of the major reasons for failure of the various forest divisions to conduct eviction drives at the RFs. Delay in eviction has been resulted more and more human encroachments at the RFs.

Even though the Forest divisions have been writing to the higher authorities to sanction funds for eviction drives, these division are yet receive any money for the same purpose.

The situation has reached such a pass that the Forest department is now not in a position to carry out eviction drives at South Kalapahar and Fatasil RFs situated in the State's capital city. The Forest division concerned had submitted a proposal of Rs 4 crore in March, 2020 to conduct eviction in the South Kalapahar and Fatasil RFs. But the proposal is still gathering dust in Dispur.

"If these reserve forest areas (South Kalapahar and Fatasil) are allowed to be encroached in the capital city of Assam, no other RF could be protected from encroachment," stated a letter written by the Forest division to its higher authority.

There are 13 RFs in Assam covering 13.59 lakh hectares of areas. Of these RFs, 3.64 lakh hectares have been encroached upon by 2 lakh households. Encroachment of RFs is the highest in Golaghat Forest division with 87,000 hectares followed by 69,000 hectares in Sonitpur (East & West) division, 32,000 hectares in Dhemaji division and 21,000 hectares in Kamrup (West) division.

Sources in the department said that carrying out an eviction drive in the RFs requires massive arrangement such as manpower, JCBs, other machines, elephants and various other logistics. "Unless we have allotted funds to carry out the eviction drives, such exercises are practically not possible," said the source.

Besides the threat of encroachment, the practice of shifting cultivation is degrading forests in the State, indicate official records. So, shifting cultivation must be stopped along with encroachment.

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