‘We should not allow them to come’: Assam CM calls for ‘community resistance’ against alleged encroachers

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged residents to build what he described as “community resistance” against those accused of encroaching on government land, calling for social and economic pressure to prevent further occupation.

Addressing reporters, Sarma said people should “not allow them to come”, adding that those already settled illegally in parts of Upper Assam would be removed “as we did in Uriamghat”.

The reference points to the state’s major eviction operation in August at Rengma Reserve Forest along the Assam–Nagaland border, where roughly 11,000 bighas of forest land were cleared. Around 1,800 families, mostly Muslims, were displaced during that drive.

Sarma appealed to residents not to offer rented housing or employment to individuals suspected of illegal settlement, warning that such support undermines eviction efforts. “If they are provided with rented accommodation, then we cannot evict them,” he said.

The Chief Minister emphasised that securing Assam could not be achieved by the government alone. He urged property owners, industrialists and contractors to avoid offering accommodation or work to unknown individuals, arguing that collective action was needed. “In this way, a community resistance should be built,” he said, without identifying any group by name.