Guwahati: In high stakes move to reclaim government land, the Assam government launched a massive eviction drive in the Hasila Lake area of Goalpara district on Sunday, aiming to clear nearly 1,555 bighas of encroached wetland, once a pristine bird sanctuary and popular tourist spot. The drive, led by the district administration, is a clear indication by the BJP led state government to recover forest and government lands from illegal encroachment.
According to Goalpara Deputy Commissioner Khanindra Chaudhury, the eviction began early morning on June 16, with over 20 excavators deployed to demolish hundreds of permanent structures, including 13 mosques and pakka houses, illegally built over the years on protected wetland. More than 2,000 security personnel were on the ground to maintain law and order during the sensitive operation.
“We had issued eviction notices to the encroachers in 2023, giving them enough time to vacate the area,” Chaudhury said, emphasising that the area in question is a reserved wetland that must be protected for ecological reasons.
The administration claims around 700 families, allegedly of Bangladeshi origin and primarily from the nearby Barpeta district, had settled illegally in the Hasila Lake area over the last two decades. Local officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged that this systematic encroachment took place during the Congress regime (2002–2015), turning the lake and its surroundings into densely populated habitations.
The Hasila Lake was once known for its thriving beauty of migratory birds, and had gradually turned into illegal villages of Bangladeshi origin Muslims. As per locals, around 7,000 people were residing in the encroached area until the eviction began.
Vote Jihad
While the eviction drive has been presented as an environmental and legal measure, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has described it in more stark and political terms. Speaking to the media earlier, the CM called the encroachment of Hasila Lake not just a case of illegal settlement, but a “planned demographic invasion” designed to alter the electoral makeup of the Goalpara East Assembly constituency.
“This was not mere encroachment. It was a deliberate attempt to change the Hindu-majority character of the constituency and turn it into a Muslim-majority one. This is part of a wider agenda, a kind of ‘vote jihad’,” CM Sarma alleged.
According to the government, the influx of settlers from Barpeta led to the rapid increase in Muslim voters, drastically changing the demography of Goalpara East. Similar encroachments were also reported in adjacent reserved forest lands, where the administration has served notices but is currently awaiting Gauhati High Court’s ruling to proceed with another phase of evictions.
What lies ahead
The administration plans to complete the current eviction within two days and has indicated that more action will follow, especially in reserved forest areas nearly five kilometers from Hasila Lake. Some families in those areas have approached the Gauhati High Court, seeking legal protection from eviction. Until the court delivers its verdict, the situation remains tense.
Meanwhile, environmentalists and conservationists have welcomed the eviction, viewing it as a first step toward reviving the ecological balance of Hasila Lake. They have urged the government to restore the wetland and consider declaring it once again as a protected bird sanctuary.
As Assam walks the tightrope between environmental protection, demographic realities, and political calculations, the Hasila Lake eviction drive stands out as a stark reminder of the deep interlinkages between land, identity, and power in the region.
