Assam: AOD orders shutdown of illegal commercial unit on refinery land

OUR CORRESPONDENT

DIGBOI: The Assam Oil Division (AOD) of Indian Oil Corporation has intensified enforcement measures against unauthorized occupation and illegal commercial activity on AOD’s land, with multiple instances of encroachment now under official scrutiny, including a wholesale commercial unit engaged in the sale of disposal materials operating near the Digboi Refinery.

An official from AOD’s Land and Revenue Department said that a comprehensive survey of AOD’s s-plot areas, including GM Plots, was currently underway, while lease renewals had remained suspended for several years. The official acknowledged that dependents of original allottees continue to occupy AOD’s land and residential premises following the death of parents or legal guardians to whom the plots were originally allotted under lease agreements.

“The individual may be residing within a GM Plot, but land beyond the permitted residential jurisdiction has been encroached upon and utilized for wholesale commercial purposes, which is purely illegal and cannot be entertained,” the official said, reiterating AOD’s zero-tolerance stance on unauthorized commercial use of AOD’s land.

The allegedly illegal wholesale disposal materials unit, operating without valid authorization on AOD’s land near the refinery, has been flagged by AOD management as a serious violation of land-use, industrial safety, and environmental norms. Officials warned that storage and trading of combustible waste materials in such close proximity to refinery infrastructure poses grave fire, safety, and security risks.

Taking a stern view, AOD management has ordered immediate cessation of all operations of the wholesale disposal unit. Any attempt to continue operations, overtly or covertly, will be treated as wilful defiance of official orders, inviting punitive action, including eviction and sealing of premises, officials said.

At the same time, AOD management has offered a conditional alternative by proposing the relocation of the business to the AOD-managed New Market on a rental basis, subject to compliance with applicable norms and approvals.

In another instance of suspected encroachment on AOD’s land, an allegedly illegal construction activity was earlier reported near Janata Talkies, where a building is said to be coming up almost attached to the cinema hall. 

The area is already sub-judice following a property dispute among members of a private family. AOD officials said that the management had approached the Government Revenue Department seeking final demarcation of AOD’s land, to determine whether the ongoing construction fell within AOD’s jurisdiction and to initiate action accordingly.

Despite these measures, local reports indicate that on-ground enforcement has often faced resistance, with surveys and reports frequently being forwarded to refinery headquarters without timely corrective action. Sources attribute the delays to political and administrative interference, coupled with local confrontation, which have hampered decisive enforcement in sensitive zones. AOD officials and local observers cautioned that unless the government devised a strong and time-bound mechanism to address the deep-seated problem of encroachment on AOD’s land, the issue was likely to persist. 

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