The committee will submit its report within one year, and based on its report, and the state government will take appropriate action to evict the encroachment. As per the survey of Satra Mahasabha, more than 4500 bighas of land are under encroachment, mostly by migrant Muslims.
Guwahati: The Assam government has decided to survey the encroachment on land belonging to Vaishnavite Satras. On Wednesday, the Assam cabinet constituted a high-level committee to study complaints of encroachments in Vaishnavite monasteries in the state. The committee will submit its report within one year, and based on its report, and the state government will take appropriate action to evict the encroachment.
It is a known fact that thousands of acres of land belonging to the Satras are under encroachment. Mostly the migrant Muslims have encroached on these lands. Batadrava Satra, the birthplace of Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardev, is under heavy encroachment of illegal migrant Muslims. The previous BJP government, on 23 September 2016, had evicted 160 Bighas of land belonging to the Batadrava Satra in Nagaon district. The state government has started the construction of the International convention centre on that land. Union home minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone on 25 February this year. On Friday, the Batadrava Satra management committee alleged that more than 300 bighas of land are still under encroachment by migrant Muslims. Moreover, 265 bighas of land allotted to ex-army personnel near the Batadrava Satra is also encroached by migrant Muslims. It was surveyed by the 'Satra Mahasabha' that more than 3000 acres of land belonging to Sattras are being encroached, mostly by migrant Muslims.
But till now, no government has done any survey on this issue. "Now we have decided to constitute a committee to look into all aspects of the problem," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said after the cabinet meeting held on Wednesday.
The committee headed by the former minister and AGP leader Pradip Hazarika will also have ruling BJP MLAs Mrinal Saikia and Rupak Sarma as members. While Hazarika will be accorded the rank of a cabinet minister, Saikia and Sarma will enjoy the privileges of ministers of state.
The committee will support senior officials of the revenue and land records department and submit a report within one year of formation on the status of encroachments in Sattras.
Earlier, a similar committee was formed to find out about encroachment at Garukhuti in Darrang district. This followed two rounds of eviction of settlers in the Dhalpur area in September this year. The evicted area in Dhalpur, Gorukhuti, has been converted to an integrated Agri farm engaging hundreds of youth.
The committee will submit its report within one year, and based on its report, and the state government will take appropriate action to evict the encroachment. As per the survey of Satra Mahasabha, more than 4500 bighas of land are under encroachment, mostly by migrant Muslims.
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