Sonitpur: Inspection of encroached land at Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary

OUR CORRESPONDENT

TEZPUR: A team of government officials led by Sonitpur District Commissioner Ananda Kumar Das on Wednesday visited the encroached areas of land earmarked for compensatory afforestation at Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary in Sonitpur district.

The inspection team included the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Sonitpur, Barun Purakayastha, Additional District Commissioner (Revenue), Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Nagaon Wildlife Division, and circle officers of Tezpur, Thelamara, and Dhekiajuli, along with officials from the revenue and forest departments.

During the visit, it was found that nearly 6,200 bighas of government land already allotted for compensatory afforestation at Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary were under illegal occupation, with encroachments in the form of residential structures and agricultural activities.

Officials stated that earlier, following a joint verification conducted by the revenue circle offices and the Forest Department, notices had been issued to the encroachers directing them to vacate the government land. However, even after the expiry of nearly one month since the issuance of notices, the land has not been vacated.

To assess the ground situation, the District Commissioner interacted with the encroachers during the visit and once again instructed them to vacate the land earmarked for compensatory afforestation at the earliest, warning of further action in accordance with the law.

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