Assam government to acquire Ginger Hotel along with land for Silsako Beel Reservoir development

Assam government on September 3 announced its decision to acquire Ginger hotel along with land for the purpose of of development of Silsako Beel as a reservoir, said an official order.

''In exercise of the powers conferred on me under section 3(1) of the Assam Land Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1954 (A XV of 1964) under Notification No. RLA81/93/5-A dated Dispur, the 15 of July 1993, 1, Pallav Gopal Jha, IAS. Deputy Commissioner & Collector, Kamrup Metropolitan District, Guwahati, do hereby requisition under Section 361) of the Assam Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1964, the land described in the Schedule below along with building standing over the land with effect from the date of this order, for the purpose of development of Sisako Beel as a reservoir and facilitate the mitigation of Urban flooding in pursuance of Department of Housing & Urban Affairs,'' the order read. 

The Assam government started an eviction drive in the Cachal area of Guwahati on May 13, 2022. Again another Eviction drive was carried out clearing 100 meters from two sides of the Silsako Canal on 27 and 28 February and again on 2 and 3 March 2023 which targeted to evict an area of 150 bighas affecting another 500 families.

Locals claim that the administration is carrying out the drive without prior notice and measures of Rehabilitation and resettlement.

As per the state government, the area was full of encroached settlements which is a reason for floods in Guwahati city. They also claimed that the area was under the Water Bodies Act 2008.  

However, the locals claim that the previous government (Congress) in 2008 passed a bill in the Legislative Assembly of a water body preservation act, without properly demarcating the areas where the Water Bodies Act falls due to which such situations have arisen.

It is to be mentioned here that among the residents even the Ginger Hotel was in between the exactly demarcated Lake area but was not evicted, however, to this CM Sarma asserted that since the land was given by the previous government, talks are in place with the hotel management to provide them with alternative plot.

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