Guwahati: Amid the ongoing eviction drive in Western Assam’s Goalpara district, the Supreme Court has directed “status quo” in the matter related to the imminent eviction and demolition of properties in Uriamghat adjoining border with Nagaland in Assam’s Golaghat district. The apex court passed the order on the special leave petition filed by Abdul Khaleq and other affected persons, challenging the concurrent orders of the high court on August 5 and 18, which declined to entertain their plea for stay of the eviction. Senior advocate C.U. Singh appeared for the petitioners. The appeal, filed through advocate-on-record Adeel Ahmed, has challenged the high court’s refusal to protect the “long-settled residents — many of whom have been in uninterrupted occupation for over seven decades, with documentary recognition by the state — from forcible eviction without due process, rehabilitation or settlement inquiry as mandated under the Assam Forest Regulation, 1891, the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and binding constitutional safeguards.” According to the petitioners, the issue raises questions of constitutional and legal importance concerning the rights of long-settled residents, the applicability of statutory safeguards under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and the binding nature of the Supreme Court that there shall be no demolitions of properties without giving a proper hearing to the affected persons. The special leave petition pleaded, “The petitioners are permanent residents of villages situated in Golaghat district, Assam, namely No. 2 Negheribill, Gelajan, Bidyapur, Rajapukhuri, Uriamghat and adjoining areas. Their forefathers settled there more than seven decades ago, and over the years, the petitioners and their families constructed permanent and semi-permanent houses, cultivated agricultural lands…” It added, “They were granted electricity connections, ration cards, Aadhaar numbers and have been continuously enrolled in the electoral rolls of their constituency. Many were also sanctioned housing assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. These facts collectively demonstrate that the petitioners are long-settled inhabitants…” According to the petitioners, the authorities issued eviction notices in July, alleging that the petitioners’ villages fall within the Doyang and South Nambor Reserve Forests. The notices granted only seven days’ time to vacate, contrary to the statutory requirements and binding judicial precedents mandating fair notice, hearing and rehabilitation. Meanwhile, security forces on Saturday re-launched an eviction drive in Western Assam’s Goalpara district. Informing that several illegal structures were demolished, security sources said that occupants of these illgal structures were served notices by authorities to vacate the area.
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