Gauhati High Court Seeks Assam's Stand on Relief for Kachutoli Evictees

The Gauhati High Court has asked the Assam government to clarify its position on rehabilitation and compensation for people displaced during an eviction drive carried out in September 2024 in the Sonapur area of Kamrup Metropolitan district.

In an order passed on September 7, Justice Devashis Barua issued notices to several government departments, directing them to place their stands on record through affidavits by October 6. The directions came on a plea filed by 76 petitioners seeking relief.

The petitioners are among the roughly 650 families — about 2,000 people in all — who were removed from Kachutoli, nearly 20 km east of Guwahati, according to their advocate Zunaid Khalid. The drive was meant to clear around 100 bighas of notified tribal land, and those evicted were largely migrant Bengali Muslims.

The court noted that the petitioners have since been living on private patta land, or property whose ownership is officially recorded, after being removed from their earlier occupation without any rehabilitation or compensation.

The eviction at Kachutoli began on September 9, 2024. Three days later, displaced villagers returned to the land, leading to renewed tension. Authorities then resumed the demolition drive, and the villagers protested. Two people, Haider Ali and Jubahir Ali, were killed in police firing, while 33 others, including government and police officials, were injured.

The local administration completed the final phase of the eviction by September 25.