Police crackdown, more than 1,000 families displaced: What's behind the mega eviction drive in Assam?

The protesters said they had been living in the area for many years and accused the state government of using unnecessary force against them.

Tensions flared in Assam’s Dhubri district on Tuesday during an eviction drive carried out by the state government, as groups of alleged encroachers clashed with security personnel and attacked government officials. The massive eviction drive is described as the largest in Assam's history.

The drive, reportedly will displace around 1,400 families from 3,500 bighas (over 450 hectares) to make way for a proposed thermal power project.

The eviction was carried out with the deployment of hundreds of JCB machines and heavy police security. According to officials, the majority of residents had already vacated the area within the deadline earlier issued by the administration, relocating along with their households and belongings.

The drive was conducted over approximately 3,500 bighas of land, earmarked for the construction of a thermal power project estimated to cost Rs 40,000 crore. This large-scale project is expected to play a transformative role in Assam's energy infrastructure.

Authorities have stated that the land clearance is essential for the implementation of this high-investment power project, and that due process was followed in informing and preparing residents ahead of the operation. A day ahead of the evciction process, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Monday, had said, "Some people from Karimganj, Dhubri, Chappar, and Silchar are going and settling in Lakhimpur. They have been evicted to protect the freedom and land rights of the local people of Lakhimpur."

Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused opposition leaders of politicising the issue. "Now they are doing politics in the name of this girl to provide security to Bangladeshis. Their objective is to stop the BJP's eviction campaign, but the BJP has gone ahead with it," he added.

The CM emphasised that the campaign will continue in other parts of the state, including Dhubri. "It will happen tomorrow in Dhubri's Chappar. No outsider should be allowed to enter Bodoland," he declared. CM Sarma strongly defended the ongoing eviction drive in parts of the state, reiterating the government's commitment to removing what he termed as "illegal Bangladeshis".

The Assam government had earlier announced that the government would launch a large-scale land clearance campaign in Dhubri and Goalpara districts to remove alleged encroachments on both public and forest land.

On Monday, Sarma said these eviction drives are being conducted to protect Assam’s land from illegal migrants and to ensure the rights and freedom of indigenous people. District administration officials said that in Dhubri alone, around 1,200–1,400 families are being evicted from three revenue villages. Another eviction operation is scheduled in Goalpara later this week, where approximately 1,100 families will be displaced to free around 1,040 bighas of forest land. Officials said all legal procedures were followed and prior notices were served to the occupants.