Jorhat, May 24: Nagaland today cried foul over the eviction of 16 Naga families from their homes in the vicinity of the Desoi Valley reserve forest, re-igniting the border land dispute that has been a thorn in its otherwise cordial relationship with Assam. Mokokchung deputy commissioner Imkon Tamchu formally complained about this to his Jorhat counterpart, saying the dispute would intensify if Assam “continues to evict Naga villagers from their land”.
Jorhat is one of the four districts bordering Nagaland.
Tamchu said a police team from Assam raided Charang Basti, a Naga-inhabited village, on Sunday and drove out the villagers before damaging their houses. “But for the presence of our border outpost near the village, the situation might have turned uglier. Our police personnel showed utmost restraint.”
The deputy commissioner, however, warned that such incidents would not be tolerated again. “I have lodged a strong complaint with my counterpart in Jorhat district of Assam,” he said. The Jorhat administration claimed that the evicted villagers from Nagaland had transgressed on Assam’s territory. “We evicted the illegal settlers from our land,” a senior official said.
Official reports pertaining to the Jorhat forest division say 80 per cent of the three forest reserves of the district — Desoi, Tiru Hills and Desoi Valley — has been encroached upon by Nagaland.
“The houses we evicted yesterday were constructed recently and in new areas. Had we not evicted them, Nagaland would have claimed after a few years that that land belongs to it,” the official said.
In neighbouring Golaghat district, tension ran high a couple of months ago when Naga villagers constructed a concrete pillar. Assam minister of state for home Rockybul Hussain visited the area to assure villagers who had been attacked by miscreants, allegedly hailing from Nagaland, that Dispur would protect them and their property.