Dhubri, Assam – In a controversial eviction drive, the Assam government has demolished the homes of around 1,400 Bengali-origin Muslim families residing on 1,157 acres of government land in Dhubri district, reportedly to clear space for a solar power project, reported the Scroll.
District Magistrate Dibakar Nath confirmed that the land has been allotted to the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL), which is spearheading the solar initiative. The affected residents had been living in Chirakuta 1 and 2, Charuakhara Jungle Block, and Santeshpur villages under Chapar revenue circle for over three to four decades.
“These are erosion-hit people who lost their ancestral homes due to the Brahmaputra,” said Towfique Hussian, a local resident.
The proposal to repurpose the Village Grazing Land—government land reserved for cattle—for the solar plant was submitted on March 30, with official proceedings recorded on April 2. Despite the pending status of a case in the Gauhati High Court challenging the eviction, authorities proceeded with the demolition starting Monday.
According to officials, advance eviction notices were issued and public announcements made daily. Bulldozers and police forces were deployed as the demolitions began, sparking fear among residents. Some families voluntarily vacated, while others had their homes razed on Tuesday.
Authorities have offered 300 bighas of land in Baizar Alga village for rehabilitation, along with a one-time relief of ₹50,000 per family for transporting belongings. However, several residents claimed they haven’t received the compensation, and the proposed rehabilitation site is in a low-lying, flood-prone area with no roads or connectivity.
Nazrul Islam, a displaced resident, said, “Baizar Alga is flooded most of the time in the monsoon. People are reluctant to go there.”
The demolition sparked protests in the area. Some residents threw stones at bulldozers, damaging three machines. Police responded with a lathi charge. Independent MLA and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi visited the site and promised to urge the chief minister to allocate 165 acres for the displaced families. He was briefly detained by police.
“This eviction is illegal and unconstitutional,” Gogoi asserted. “The matter is still pending in the High Court. The Himanta Biswa Sarma government is unlawfully demolishing homes.”
He also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government was targeting Muslims to consolidate Hindu votes.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma later defended the drive, stating, “We are clearing encroached land for public use. We stand with the indigenous people of Assam, while Akhil Gogoi stands for one community. This is our political ideology.”
The eviction follows a pattern of similar actions in recent weeks:
June 16: 690 Bengali-origin Muslim families evicted in Goalpara from Hasila Beel wetland.
June 30: 93 families evicted in Nalbari from 150 acres of village grazing reserve land.
July 4: 220 families evicted in Lakhimpur district from 77 acres across four sites.
Since 2016, when the BJP came to power in Assam, over 10,620 families, the majority of them Muslim, have been displaced from government land, according to the state’s revenue and disaster management department.
Legal experts point out that the Supreme Court ruled in November that demolishing homes as a punitive measure is illegal and that due process must be followed, especially when properties are removed under allegations of encroachment.
Despite legal and humanitarian concerns, the Assam government plans to continue its eviction drive, with the next operation scheduled for July 10 in Paikar, Goalpara.
