Families told to vacate Golaghat reserve forests in 7 days: Gauhati HC

The Gauhati High Court has directed families living in Doyang and Nambor reserve forests in Golaghat district to vacate within seven days and asked the state government to establish a mechanism to prevent such settlements in the future.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury on Monday said the families must vacate by Sunday. If they fail to do so, the state government is permitted to evict them.

The court was hearing petitions filed by 74 people challenging district authority notices that asked them to vacate the land within seven days. The petitioners argued that the notices contravened provisions of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886, the Assam Land Policy, 2019, and a Supreme Court order of December 13, 2024.

On August 5, the HC had already given the petitioners 10 days to submit documentary evidence of land rights or vacate the forest area.

The bench reiterated that adequate time had already been provided and directed that in future eviction drives, authorities must serve notice of “15 days, followed by a further 15 days for exiting the place.”

The court emphasised the need for a robust mechanism to stop illegal entry into reserve forests, including:

• Checking entry points
• Installing barbed wire at porous borders
• Setting up functional checkpoints

It also warned that such measures would only succeed if officials performed their duties honestly and efficiently. “If any illegal entry is found, necessary penal action should be initiated against officials, including those of the forest department,” the order said.

The bench further recommended periodic reviews and constant surveillance to safeguard the ecological balance of reserve forests.

Since June, the state government has conducted nine eviction drives, displacing more than 50,000 people. Most of those affected are Bengali-speaking Muslims, who say their families settled there after losing land in the erosion-prone char (riverine) areas of the Brahmaputra.