Assam government illegally allotted land to 17 institutions in a wetland. Now to pay compensation to recover the same

While around 500 families were evicted from Silsako Beel without any compensation, there is no explanation why the government allotted land to the 17 institutions in 2009 at the same location which had been declared a protected wetland in 2008.

Eviction at Silsako Beel (File Photo)

The Assam government’s recent decision to acquire 179 bighas of land from 17 institutions in a bid to rejuvenate Silsako Beel, a wetland located in Guwahati, has once again brought to the fore the government’s double standard on land allotment policy. Between February 27 and March 1, the government evicted nearly 500 families for illegally encroaching land at Silsako, which was declared a protected wetland in 2008. Ironically, these 17 institutions were allotted land by the government at the same Silsako one year after it was declared a wetland.

Following the eviction drive, the Assam government now wants to implement a Rs 250-crore project to develop Silsako Beel as a reservoir, restore the city’s natural drainage systems and mitigate urban flooding. As these 17 institutions are obstructing the implementation of the project, the government will acquire their land by paying due compensation. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government has already assigned a company called Alluvium International to prepare the DPR for the Silsako project. This was confirmed to India Today NE by Ashok Singhal, Assam minister for Guwahati Development Department.

Though Silsako was notified as protected area in 2008, many settlers, who had bought land in the area earlier, had even got holding numbers from Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and kept paying property taxes and electricity bills. While they were evicted without any compensation, there is no explanation why the government allotted land to the 17 institutions even after declaring the Beel a protected wetland. Here are the 17 institutions which got land allotment at Silsako by the revenue department of Assam government. The Congress was in power at that time.

SL. No	Old Dag no	New Dag no	Total land	Total land in Bigha	Land belongs to	Property owner
1	602	3783	267.60 acre	20 Bigha	Government	Hotel Management
2	602	3784	664.90 acre	50 Bigha	Government	Sahitya Sabha
3	602	3779	66.89 acre	5 Bigha	Government	All Assam Tennis Association
4	602	3780	66.90 acre	5 Bigha	Government	Duko Operative management
5	602	3781	13.38 acre	1 Bigha	Government	Titabor Bhawan
6	602	3770	13.38 acre	1 Bigha	Government	Koch Rajbongshi Sanmilani
7	602	3771	13.38 acre	1 Bigha	Government	Madhyamik Shikshak Sanstha
8	602	3772	26.76 acre	1 Bigha	Government	Amiya Kumar Das Institute
9	602	3773	13.38 acre	1 Bigha	Government	All Assam Maitree coordinational Parishad
10	602	2664	86.37 acre	6 Bigha 2 Kotha 5 Lecha	Government	High School
11	602	2663	138.38 acre	1 Bigha	Government	Assam Tea Workers Welfare Parishad
12	602	2662	40.51 acre	3 Bigha	Government	Hengrabari Junior College
13	602	2595	13.38 acre	1 Bigha	Government	National Institute Television and Theatre
14	602	3347	669.00 acre	50 Bigha	Government	Assam Vidhan Sabha Sachiwalay, MLA
15	602	2081	93.65 acre	1 Bigha	Government	Tepuram Teron High School
16	602	2589	267.60 acre	20 Bigha	Government	TV Centre Awas Grih
17	602	2593	66.89 acre	5 Bigha	Government	Veterinary Hospital
Total			2397.35 acre	179 Bigha 17 Lecha

On March 1, three days after the eviction drive started, Chief Minister Sarma directed Kamrup (Metro) DC to shift hotels and educational institutions from Silsako Beel. “I have instructed the DC, Kamrup (Metro) to take steps to immediately shift institutions like Hotel Ginger, OKD Institutions of Social Change, etc from Silsako,” tweeted Sarma. Interestingly, the eviction drive was stopped from the very next day.

Also read : Why Himanta Biswa Sarma government evicted 300 families from protected wetland but spared a big hotel

Edited By: Nandita Borah

Published On: Mar 14, 2023