Neighbouring states

Assam, Dec 29: The Assam government informed the assembly that the state has faced 56 instances of land encroachment in 2020 by neighbouring states such as Arunachal, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram.

In a written reply to a query by the leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that these 56 cases of land encroachments by neighbouring states were reported across 11 districts since 1 January of this year.

The highest 17 cases were reported from Cachar, which faced violent clashes between the people of Assam and Mizoram, Patowary said on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also holds the home portfolio.

One person was killed in clashes in Cachar, he added.

Cachar is followed by West Karbi Anglong and Kamrup districts that reported seven instances of land encroachment, the minister said.

Other districts where Assam’s land was encroached on are Lakhimpur (six cases), Dhemaji and Karbi Anglong (five each), Jorhat (four), Karimganj (two), and Sadiya, Tinsukia, and Sivasagar (one each), Patowary said.

To recover the encroached land, the Assam government has written several letters to the respective states and the Centre, he said.