- NET Web Desk
Altogether, 6,800 square kilometers of land in the northeastern state of Assam have been either wiped-off or encroached upon by residents hailing from the state and by citizens from the four other northeastern states, claimed the Assam Land and Revenue Minister Jogen Mohan.
Replying to a query asked by the leader of opposition party Debabrata Saikia in the legislative Assembly on Friday, Mohan asserted that over 5.35 lakh bighas (or 716 sq kms) of land has been wiped out during the last two decades.
According to Mohan, the annual erosion has wiped-off 1,141 villages, thereby influencing over 58,000 inhabitants.
He further added that 5,028 of the erosion-affected families were handed landless citizen certificates, while 23,995 were provide with land allotments.
However, four neighbouring states of Assam – the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya had encroached Assam’s forest and revenue land, measuring 332 square kilometres, stated Mohan.
