The Assam Government has launched a massive eviction drive to reclaim over 3,600 acres of forest land in Rengma Reserve Forest, located along sensitive Assam-Nagaland border in the Sarupathar subdivision of Golaghat district. Officials have stated that this eviction drive will be the largest anti-encroachment drive in the state’s history.
The operation, led by the Golaghat district administration and forest department, aims to clear encroachments spread across nearly 11,000 bighas of protected forest land. Around 1,500 families had earlier served eviction notices. In total, about 2,000 families were living in the area, though only those without valid land rights are being targeted.

The first phase of the eviction has started on Tuesday morning in the Vidyapur market area, with a significant presence of police and forest personnel. The operation will gradually expand into residential areas where 2,648 illegal structures across 12 villages have marked for demolition. These villages include Sonaribil Top, No. 2 Pithaghat, No. 2 & No. 3 Dayalpur, Dalanpathar, Kherbari, Vidyapur, Vidyapur Bazar, No. 2 Madhupur, Anandpur, Rajapukhuri, and Gelajan.
An official stated, “Among the residents, 1,500 families living illegally and issued notices. The remaining families officially recognized forest dwellers with valid Forest Rights Committee (FRC) certificates.”

To ensure the smooth execution of the operation, over 2,000 police personnel and 500 forest staff have deployed.
Authorities confirmed that nearly 80% of the families who received eviction notices have already vacated their homes voluntarily. “We are currently demolishing only the abandoned structures,” said a senior district official.