Small tea growers flay eviction drive

DIBRUGARH, June 10? The current spate of evictions from forest lands by the authorities have not only been criticism but was also condemned by the All Assam Small Tea Growers? Association (AASTGA). AASTGA general secretary Hemanta Kumar Gohain said that in the name of eviction of encroachments in ?so-called reserve forests?, several small tea growers of the State now face a bleak future, as their plantations too have been destroyed. He called for a proper compensation and rehabilitation plan for the eviction-affected person. He also questioned why the ?so-called reserve forests? were allowed to be used for the plantation and other activities for decades, without a word of caution from the Forest Department. Gohain is of the view that small tea plantations should be treated as ?agricultural forests? and these should not be evicted, even if the small plantations are located on encroached lands. Meanwhile, sources in the Forest Department said an intensive eviction drive has been planned in the Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts and that the drive would commence on Monday. Though not much forest area has been encroached upon in the Dibrugarh district, two tea plantations in the Namrup-Joypur belt face the prospect of eviction, as these have come up in a proposed reserve forest.