‘Serious effort to salvage Goalpara’: Assam CM on conservation of three major beels

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said the government’s initiatives to conserve three major waterbodies or 'beels' in Goalpara district are aimed at restoring ecological balance and salvaging past damage caused by widespread encroachment.

He said people who had encroached on the waterbodies should not be blamed, as they were ‘invited’ by some politicians to settle in these areas.

Talking to reporters after reviewing the situation of Hasila beel, where an eviction drive was carried out last week, Sarma said,
"The Cabinet has already decided to notify Hasila beel and Urpod beel as Proposed Reserve Forest (PRF). The same will be done for Kumri beel. Within three months, we will take public opinion and work on declaring these as PRFs."

Sarma also directed the tourism department to prepare a master plan to develop tourism prospects around these ecologically important areas.

"I reviewed the situation here today. We will need people’s cooperation. Two other beels have been encroached upon, and it will be cleared," Sarma said.

He said that encroachers will be ‘requested to leave’, while the government will buy land from those who are legal settlers and have land ownership documents.

The CM claimed that encroachment in these areas is new, and when illegal settlements started can be determined through satellite imagery.

"We have to first know where the encroachers came from. You can see that these houses are 12–15 years old. We will facilitate their return to their original place. For those who are landless, it is a different matter," he said.

"We need to understand the geography and history of every person. Our aim is not people, but to protect the beels. We won’t allow encroachment," he asserted.

He maintained that some issues have to be resolved through eviction, while some can be done through negotiations.

"If encroachers come for talks, we will listen to them. We are always accessible. Even today, some people here greeted me with ‘gamosa’ and I accepted it. People don’t dislike me, I am always available for them," he said.

The CM said encroachers are "not to be blamed", claiming they were invited by some politicians to settle in the ecologically sensitive zones.

Asked about Rakhyasini hill, which is already an RPF but has been encroached massively, the chief minister said,
"It is an old issue and we are looking into it. Some are old settlers, some new."

He said discussions with different people are going on, and 30–45 days will be needed, after which the government will talk with the people there.

The CM said the government’s goal is to restore Goalpara’s ecological balance, and that the recent eviction drive was part of a broader conservation mission.

"For the first time, the government is making a serious effort to salvage Goalpara from ecological damage. If people support us, we will restore it step by step. The face of the district will change," he said.

The state Cabinet had on Sunday approved proposals for notifying Urpad Beel area (1,256 Ha) and Hasila Beel area (245 Ha) as PRF, a measure to maintain "social and natural balance".

Last week, eviction was carried out in about 45 per cent of the 1,555 bigha area of Hasila Beel village, where families had illegally settled. The remainder of the area is part of the actual waterbody. (PTI)