'Can't Allow 1,000 Families To Grab 77,000 Acres Of Land': Assam CM Sarma Says Eviction Is An Ongoing Process

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday (9 October) defended the ongoing eviction drive in the state and said that his government cannot allow 1,000 families to grab 77,000 acres land.

"Our land policy says that nobody can occupy land more than 2 acres," he added.

"We have to give land to the people who doesn't have land. We have to do government projects. So we have to evict people if they encroach land in VGR (Village Grazing Reserve), PGR (Professional Grazing Reserve) and if they encroach land in our forestry," Sarma said.

He added that eviction is a continuous process but the issue has come into national focus because of an incident in state.

Earlier last month, an eviction drive turned violent in Sipajhar in Assam's Darrang district, leading to death of at least two men.

"There's no community-wise politics, no communalisation on this," he said.

Sarma also said that when the state's tribal people are evicted, the left-liberals "do not cry for them" but when illegal immigrants are evicted, they cry for them.