Guwahati, May 18: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday reaffirmed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s commitment to reclaiming more than 1,250 square kilometres of encroached land in the state. He stated that the administration has already initiated ground-level operations to achieve this target.
In a post on X, Sarma wrote, “NDA 3.0 is committed to reclaim over 1250 sq km of encroached land in Assam. We are already on the ground working towards realising this promise.” He also shared images from Saturday’s anti-encroachment drive conducted by the state authorities.
The Assam government has been carrying out eviction operations across multiple districts as part of its campaign against alleged illegal occupation of government and forest land. The announcement comes weeks after Sarma supported conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.
Meanwhile, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) voiced strong opposition to any fresh socio-economic or citizenship-related survey in Assam. AIUDF General Secretary Rafiqul Islam described the proposal as unnecessary, arguing that the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which underwent five years of scrutiny under Supreme Court monitoring, should be treated as final.
Islam questioned the rationale behind initiating another survey, noting that the NRC exercise had already dispelled exaggerated claims about the scale of undocumented migration. He pointed out that while political narratives suggested figures as high as 90 lakh outsiders, the final NRC published in August 2019 excluded only 19 lakh names. He further emphasised that many of those excluded have family members included in the NRC, meaning corrections are still pending.
The AIUDF urged the government to prioritise completing the NRC process instead of launching a new SIR. “Give NRC cards quickly to those whose names are already there. For the 19 lakh excluded, let them file claims and objections through Foreigners Tribunals as per Supreme Court guidelines,” Islam said.
