Amid the ongoing eviction drive in Upper Assam adjoining border with Nagaland, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that his government was carrying out a targeted survey across forest lands in and around Guwahati to identify non-indigenous settlers whose families have not lived in the region for at least three generations.
He however clarified that the exercise does not cover revenue lands and explicitly excludes indigenous communities.
After chairing a cabinet meeting the chief minister told reporters that the survey was not linked to religion and focuses solely on individuals suspected of settling with the “intent to disrupt the demography” of the area.
Asserting that indigenous people living in forest areas should not worry about the survey, he said, “This survey pertains only to forest land. It has nothing to do with religion. Indigenous populations residing in these areas are not within its scope.”
