5,46,161.5618 Hectares of Government Lands Still Under Encroachment

Focus areas of DCs, COs on other issues

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The prime duty of the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Circle Officers (COs) is to resolve the land-related issues. However, the DCs and COs are currently being compelled by circumstances to shift their focus areas. The negative fallout is witnessed in many government lands still remaining under encroachments. Even the intermittent eviction drives have failed to deliver the results. Another issue is the lack of a proper monitoring system to check the evicted people from illegally settling in some other place.

According to official data, the total area of government land under encroachment across the State are 5, 46, 161.5618 hectares. Of this, the highest area of 92,115.18 hectares is in Tinsukia district followed by 54,264.61 (hectares) in Lakhimpur; 38,314.939 in Udalguri; 38,033.06 in Dibrugarh; and 37,224.057 in Dhemaji; 31,268.97 in Goalpara; 27,218.239 in Biswanath; 23,554.105 in Nagaon; and 20,252.05 hectares in Barpeta district.

The only district without encroachment on government land is Dima Hasao. Information is yet to be received by the department from Kamrup (Metro), Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong.

Moreover, there are encroachments of varying degrees on government lands in the remaining districts of Baksa, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Cachar, Charaideo, Darrang, Dhubri, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Hojai, Jorhat, Karimganj, Majuli, Morigaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, South Salmara, Kamrup and Kokrajhar.

Against this woeful backdrop, the need has arisen for the Revenue and Disaster Management Department to evolve a foolproof mechanism to free the encroached government lands.

The undue pressure on DCs and COs has been due to the fact that successive State governments have been imposing on them additional responsibilities. Even otherwise, besides looking after administration, their duties also include law and order, development and flood-related work, updation of electoral rolls, and various other local issues. They were also engaged in updation process of the NRC (National Register of Citizens) since 2013. Moreover, the DCs are also the ‘Chairman’ of many committees of the government. These works too put additional workloads on the DCs and COs.

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