Eviction for corporates: AJP accuses Assam Govt of selling indigenous land to Adani, Ambani

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 17, 2025

The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) has accused the BJP-led state government of using eviction drives as a façade to transfer vast tracts of land to private corporations, including the Adani Group, Reliance, and Patanjali.

Speaking at a press conference, AJP general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan claimed that over 55,000 bighas of land are being cleared for handover to corporate interests. He alleged that only about 6,000 bighas belong to Bengali-origin settlers—often labelled “illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators” by the government—while the remaining 49,000 bighas belong to indigenous communities, primarily tribal groups.

Bhuyan said the state government’s rhetoric around protecting Assamese identity is misleading, and that the eviction campaign is being used to mask a systematic displacement of tribal people to benefit big business.

He pointed to what he called a “double standard” in rehabilitation efforts, noting that while Bengali-origin families have received compensation and resettlement packages, displaced indigenous families have been left without any government support.

Citing state data, Bhuyan said 332 families evicted from Kaziranga’s sixth addition received ₹14.71 crore in compensation. In Gorukhuti, 2,051 families were evicted and 1,583 resettled. In Lumding, most of the 707 evicted families were allotted alternate land. In Batadrava, seven families were paid between ₹5 lakh and ₹12 lakh, as per details submitted to the Gauhati High Court.

In contrast, he said, indigenous families removed from places like Amchang, Silshako, Mikir Bamuni, and Inle Pathar were given no compensation or rehabilitation. “If they are Bangladeshis, why are they being paid and settled? If they are Indian citizens, then why is the government demonising them in public?” Bhuyan questioned.

The AJP leader said recent evictions in Dhubri and Goalpara were carried out to clear land for large infrastructure projects. He claimed that the Chirakuta-Charuwabakra-Santoshpur belt in Dhubri is being cleared for a 3,400 MW Adani thermal power plant, while land in Paikan, Goalpara, is being prepared for an Adani-built railway coach factory.

Bhuyan also listed other major developments allegedly linked to corporate land acquisition:

A 3,200 MW power plant in Parbatjhora requiring 3,600 bighas

A 1,000 MW solar project in Lankapathar, displacing 24 Karbi villages

7,184 acres cleared in Amtereng, displacing over 2,000 Karbi and Khasi families

9,000 bighas in Umrangso for a proposed cement factory

1,500 acres in Palashbari-Borduar for a satellite township

25 acres in Phaloni, Golaghat, for palm oil cultivation by Patanjali

A hydroelectric project in Ukiam that could affect more than 400 downstream villages

Bhuyan described the eviction of indigenous families from areas like Mikir Bamuni, Kaziranga, and Silshako as part of a larger trend of removing tribal communities from their land without safeguards or compensation.

He also questioned the government’s commitment to Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which guarantees constitutional protections for Assamese people. Bhuyan called for the status of the Biplab Kumar Sharma committee’s report to be made public and demanded clarity on whether its recommendations have been accepted by the Union Home Ministry.

Bhuyan criticised the BJP for organising rallies to celebrate the eviction drives, calling them “a mockery of public trust.” He said a government that had failed to protect the land rights of its own people had no moral ground to celebrate.

AJP spokespersons Ziaur Rahman and Amrit Khatoniar echoed Bhuyan’s concerns, describing the evictions as a coordinated effort to displace indigenous populations under the guise of governance. They warned that if not stopped, these actions could lead to irreversible damage to Assam’s demographic and cultural identity.