GUWAHATI, July 11 ? Militant outfit National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), today said that if the government is concerned about preservation of forests, it should first clear the tribal belts and blocks illegally occupied by unathorised people for settlement of the indigenous people now living in forest land. In a statement released to the press today, publicity secretary of the NDFB B Erakdao said that keeping in mind the serious issue of preserving the ecological balance, the NDFB, from the very beginning, had been advocating the need for preservation of forests and other natural resources. He alleged that instead of protecting the forests, the government tried to defame the NDFB by spreading rumours alleging the NDFB of indulging in timber trade published in a section of the media. He further alleged that every Indian Army official posted in any corner of ?Bodoland? was involved in smuggling of timber to his native place, while every police officer is building houses unproportionate to his income.
The NDFB publicity secretary pointed out that the British Governemnt in India passed the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation Act, 1886, where provisions were laid down restricting transfer of land to the outsiders or non-tribals by creating tribal belts and blocks. But unfortunately, after India?s independence, foreigners as well as people from mainland India occupied the tribal belts and blocks under the patronage of the successive Indian governments and political leaders as a result of which the indigenous people, majority of whom were Bodos, had to move to enexploited forest land, the statement said.
The statement said that as the Bodo people were driven out from the land of their ancestors, foreign nationals, outsiders and even government departments occupied their land. Referring to the ongoing eviction drive by the Forest departmemt, the statement said that if the drive goes on, the evicted Bodo people would have to settle in other unexploited forest land. Areas in and around Guwahati city, which belonged to the Bodos, were occupied by government departments, political leaders and outsiders by unfair means, the statement added. The NDFB further alleged that the Government at Dispur was patronising the sattlement of ?unscrupullous business community from outside and foreign nationals? by driving out the Bodo people from their own land.
The NDFB termed the eviction drive as ?another example of the colonial government?s design to turn the sons of the soil to landless nomads?. The outfit expressed the view that the Bodo people were the worst sufferers of the eviction drive. The government, instead of arranging for settlement of the landless indigenous people, is now seeking a short-cut solution to preserve the forests by eviction and it is clear that the government?s concerns on protecting the forest is only superficial, the statement added.