Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has claimed that about 29 lakh bighas of land in the state is illegally occupied by “Bangladeshi infiltrators and suspicious citizens”. He made this statement during a program at Garukhuti in Darrang district, where the fourth anniversary of the state government’s multipurpose agriculture project was celebrated. He said that after coming to power in 2021, the government started a campaign to take back the land, but had to face international pressure.
Garukhuti model became a source of inspiration
The Chief Minister said that the land of Garukhuti, which was earlier under illegal occupation, has now turned into fertile fields. It has become an ideal model which will be implemented in other encroached areas. So far 77,420 bighas of land has been freed from encroachment. Sarma made it clear that this is only the beginning, and this campaign will continue across the state.
In the last 4 years, we have freed over 42,000 acres of land from encroachers and dedicated it to public use. pic.twitter.com/AaWDKMcNTK
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 21, 2025
Campaign going on in different districts
According to CM Sarma, this campaign has also been run in areas like Borsola, Lumding, Burhpahar, Pabah, Batdrava, Chappar and Paikan after Darrang. In the last four years, a total of 1.29 lakh bigha i.e. about 43,000 acres of land has been freed from encroachment. There is a plan to give a large amount of this land to forest development and the citizens of the state.
Question of historical suffering and identity
Discussing the Assam Movement (1983-1985), Sarma said that at that time people had surrendered and supported the Congress, which changed the political direction of Assam. He warned that those who think that the government will get scared after two-three campaigns are wrong. He said, “The martyrs of the Assam Movement will be avenged, but within the ambit of the law.”
Protection of cultural balance and identity
The Chief Minister said that the cultural identity of the state is also under threat. He said that a time had come when ‘Shankar-Madhav‘ started being called ‘Shankar-Azan’. He clarified that the respect for Azan Peer is in its place, but Srimanta Shankardev and Madhavdev also have an important contribution in the identity of Assam, which is important to maintain.
