Indigenous group slams Assam govt, BTC admin plan to allot 3,600 bighas to Adani for thermal plant in tribal belt

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 13, 2025

The Indigenous Forum, Assam (IFA) has strongly opposed the Assam government’s decision to hand over 3,600 bighas of land in Parbatjhora, Kokrajhar district, to the Adani Group for a proposed thermal power plant. The land in question, the IFA stated, has been inhabited by the indigenous Bodo community for generations and falls within the tribal belt under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

In a statement issued Friday, IFA leaders — president Mrinal Hazarika, secretary Pranjal Deori, and publicity secretary Vikramaditya Dutta — criticized both the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) administration and the BJP-led state government, calling the move “anti-tribal and unconstitutional.”

According to the IFA, Jeet Adani, son of industrialist Gautam Adani, visited the proposed site on April 23. The Forum argued that the land transfer, done without community consultation, violates the spirit of the BTC Accord signed in 2003 and disregards tribal rights protected under national and international frameworks, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The IFA also raised alarm over another proposed project — a 1,000 MW solar power plant at Lankathar in Karbi Anglong district — which would require land acquisition in 24 villages. Although the Asian Development Bank has withdrawn its Rs 4,000 crore funding for the project, the state government has yet to cancel it. The IFA warned that more than 20,000 indigenous Karbi people could be displaced if the project proceeds.

“We condemn the government’s attempt to make indigenous people landless instead of securing their land rights,” the statement said. “By aligning with corporate interests, the government has clearly rejected its constitutional duty to protect tribal lands and livelihoods.”

The Forum has pledged to resist these moves through democratic, legal, political, and economic means. “There is no future for Assam’s indigenous people unless they resist unitedly,” the IFA asserted, vowing to stand with the affected communities in Parbatjhora and Karbi Anglong.