Over 2.5 Lakh Bighas of Assam’s PGR, VGR Lands Under Encroachment

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Apart from forest and government land, land meant for Professional Grazing Reserve (PGR) and Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) are also under heavy encroachment in the state. On these PGR and VGR lands, not only individuals have grabbed land, but some public institutions have also been set up. It is also alleged that some religious institutions have been established on certain PGR and VGR lands.

PGR land in Assam is a specific category of government-reserved land set aside exclusively for cattle grazing by professional livestock herders.

VGR is a specific category of government-owned land officially set aside for the villagers to graze their livestock, such as cattle and goats.

Latest information available with The Sentinel says that a total of 2,54,751 bighas of land categorised as PGR and VGR are under encroachment in Assam. The highest of 38,150 bighas of encroached PGR and VGR lands are in the Morigaon district, followed by the Biswanath district, with 31,713 bighas.

The other districts having encroached PGR and VGR lands are as follows: Bajali-10,345 bighas, Barpeta-26,253 bighas, Bongaigaon-10,318 bighas, Charaideo-11,064 bighas, Dhemaji-4,007 bighas, Dhubri-3,534 bighas, Dibrugarh-21,449 bighas, Goalpara-3,088 bighas, Golaghat-31,466 bighas, Hailakandi-108 bighas, Hojai-11,109 bighas, Jorhat-23,689 bighas, Kamrup-9,609 bighas, Lakhimpur-9,813 bighas, and Sivasagar-9,044 bighas.

Ever since the BJP came into power in the state in 2016, they have conducted eviction drives targeting encroachers on forest and government land. However, PGR and VGR lands under encroachment are not on the radar of the government, even though farmers depend on these lands for providing fodder to their livestock. It is due to the lack of monitoring by Revenue department officials at the grassroots level that such encroachments take place. Over time, the scale and permanence of the encroachments have increased.

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