Preparations are underway in Golaghat district of Assam to restart a major land clearance operation targeting 59 families situated along the Assam-Nagaland border. Officials from the local district administration alongside the Forest Department visited the No. 2 Negheribil area in Merapani on Sunday to serve final eviction notices. The residents have been instructed to clear out their belongings and vacate the premises voluntarily by August 18, after which official machinery will be deployed to clear the land.
Supreme Court Verdict Clears Legal Obstacles
This upcoming operation follows a long legal battle over the occupation of land in No. 2 Negheribil. During an earlier enforcement action, the Forest Department successfully removed 205 families from the location. However, 59 families resisted the clearance and sought judicial intervention. They initially approached the Gauhati High Court and later took their petition to the Supreme Court of India, obtaining a temporary stay order on eviction while proceedings were active.
The legal stalemate ended when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Assam government, dismissing the challenges and validating the state's authority to reclaim the land. With the judicial stay lifted, district authorities issued strict directions to the remaining occupants to abide by the August 18 deadline. Officials confirmed that if voluntary evacuation does not take place within the stipulated timeframe, a full-scale eviction drive will commence immediately after the deadline passes.
High-Tech Surveillance and Administrative Readiness
To ensure a seamless operation, administrative teams carried out extensive field mapping across the settlement. During Sunday's site visit, officials marked individual structures with serial numbers and used drone cameras to capture high-resolution aerial footage. This aerial surveillance allowed authorities to accurately assess building density, map terrain, and plan operational logistics for the upcoming eviction drive.
Preparatory groundwork for this action has been building over recent months. In May this year, Special Chief Secretary M.K. Yadava conducted a detailed site inspection at No. 2 Negheribil to evaluate ground realities. The review meeting brought together senior officials from the Forest Department, district administration, local police force, and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). During that May inspection, authorities also deployed drone surveillance to check whether any unauthorized new structures had been built since the previous eviction phase.
