Assam: Eviction drive at Silsako Beel halted for 10 days after meetings with CM Sarma

The eviction drive at Silsako Beel, a waterbody in Guwahati, has reportedly been halted for 10 days following a series of meetings between Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) officials, and local developmental organisations. The decision to halt the eviction drive was made after the state government directed to stop the drive for 10 days and to seek a survey report in connection with the eviction and the area under alleged encroachment.

Sources suggest that after 10 days, the eviction drive will be resumed, and a border will be set in the area to determine the area of Silsako lake. The officials hope that before the eviction drive is resumed, the people who encroached on the land would leave the area on their own. The officials added that people who settled there before 2008 would be given rationalised land with financial assistance, while those who settled after 2008 may not be entitled to any aid or even land elsewhere.

Additionally, the government has started an operation to nab "unauthorised brokers/middlemen" who sold "government land" to the residents of the lake. One such operation led to the police apprehending a man from Satgaon, identified as Paresh Das, who has been accused of selling the land to people without any authorisation. Das denied the accusations, saying he has no connection with land or real estate dealings and that his business activities are unrelated to land.