Gauhati High Court: Forest Department to carry out eviction drive only on forest land

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has directed that eviction drive taken up by the Forest Department should be restricted only to forest land.

A total of 33 petitioners of the Nagaon district had filed a writ petition (WP(C)/881/2023) in Gauhati High Court. The petitioners claimed that they reside in plots of land falling within Chiltalmari Pathar, which is a revenue village according to the petitioners. However, the petitioners have been served with notices by the Forest Department stating that they are encroaching upon forest land. They have therefore been asked to vacate their respective plots of land.

The petitioners claimed that the notices are without jurisdiction as they have been served on a wrong premise that the land under their occupation is forest land. However, the counsel for the Forest Department argued that the department had served notices to all encroachers after determining the land under their possession. The counsel also said that “apart from bare averments, not even a single document has been annexed to substantiate that the petitioners have valid title over the land in question”.

Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi directed the Forest Department to carry out eviction drive only on forest land and not over land under any revenue village. In such an event, the land must be ascertained by the Revenue Department, Assam. The court order stated, “However, it is made clear that this Court has not passed any order of restrain to any steps taken by the State to make forest land encroachment free.”

With this, the court disposed of the writ petition.

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