Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has stayed the eviction drive at the Silsako in Guwahati till March 3 following an appeal by 12 families residing in the area.
The eviction drive on the Silsako lake was started by Kamrup (M) district administration on Monday with a target of clearing around 1650 bighas of encroached land that was allegedly encroached.
Earlier several families residing in the area next to Silsako Beel accused the government of evicting them inhumanely with no prior notice.
As per sources, around 200-250 families were evicted during the drive.
The source also stated that at least 1200 bigha of the 1800 bigha is under encroachment. On Monday, the eviction drive was carried to free out 400 bighas that were allegedly under encroachment.
In 2008, the government declared the lake a protected waterbody and prohibited any construction or settlement in around 1,800 bighas of the surrounding area.
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This means that any activities that could potentially harm or damage the lake or its surrounding ecosystem, such as building structures or establishing human settlements, are not allowed within the protected area.
One of them said, “We did see policemen patrolling the area yesterday but they did not tell us anything. We have all documents that the proves our house is legal but even then they destroyed the house.”
She added that they were even given a holding number by the authorities which certify that the house is legal. “There should have been a notice that we would be evicted but they did not bother. It was like, they only wanted to see the people suffer”, she added.
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Another woman said that the eviction without notice has destroyed their lives as her son has her board exams from March 3 and with this, he has not even been able to study. “The government should have told us to move away, we would have moved but all of a sudden, evicting us like this has put us all in misery”, she said.
As per some reports, the GMDA has even evicted a former Indian Army personnel who had built his house in the area.
While the eviction was directed towards encroachers, many had claimed that their land and houses were all legal.