Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that the state government will move Gauhati High Court for an early order on its previous stay on the eviction in grazing lands in West Karbi Anglong district.

A tripartite meeting was held at the Lok Sewa Bhawan here on Friday evening involving the state government, representatives of Karbi organisations and the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) with focus on encroachment of government land, especially Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) and Professional Grazing Reserve (PGR), to resolve the ongoing strife in West Karbi Anglong district.

“Considering the importance of the matter, the state government will request the court for an expeditious hearing and early verdict, following which appropriate action will be taken by the government in accordance with the court’s decision,” the chief minister, who chaired the meeting, said.

It was decided that the KAAC will file an affidavit within the first week of January in connection with the case related to eviction from VGR-PGR land and relocate all offices from the said land. The Karbi Civil Society will also present its views to the court as a party in the case.

Gauhati High Court had asked the KAAC to produce documents notifying VGR-PGR land under its jurisdiction.

Sarma said: “For the first time, we came to know there is an issue with the KAAC. They have not filed affidavit (response) in the high court on the PGR/VGR case for last two years. Had they filed the affidavit in the court, the matter would have been resolved by now, I have directed the council to file the affidavit by January 5...”

West Karbi Angong district, especially areas in and around Kheroni, had seen a protest demanding eviction from PGR-VGR since December 6. The protest escalated on December 22 with the torching of the ancestral residence of the KAAC chief by a mob unhappy with the delay in meeting the eviction demand.

The settlers are mostly non-tribals living there for generations. The unrest over the eviction issue led to the vandalisation of the Kheroni market, mostly run by non-tribals, by a mob and loss of two lives on December 23. The situation has remained calm since Wednesday.

Friday’s tripartite meeting was called to find a way to address the grievances of the Karbi people.

An official statement said all government offices presently located on VGR–PGR land in Kheroni will be shifted to alternative locations at the earliest. The KAAC will soon undertake fencing of the approximately 8,000-bighas of VGR–PGR land in Kheroni and carry out afforestation in the area so as to prevent any future encroachment.

Sarma announced that the KAAC will immediately cancel the licences (issued in the last five years) of all commercial establishments operating on VGR–PGR land. Further, all government office land in Karbi Anglong district that has been encroached upon by individuals for residential purposes will be cleared of encroachments.

Referring to the death due to police firing in Kheroni, Sarma said the KAAC will provide a job to a next of kin of the deceased, while the state government will additionally provide ex-gratia compensation of ₹10 lakh. He said all police cases against those related to the unrest will be withdrawn except the one in which a youth, Suraj Dey, died of burn injuries in the arson that took place in Kheroni on Tuesday.

Expressing his satisfaction over the outcome of the talks, Sarma said: “We will sit again on January 16 or 17 to resolve all the issues... I am with the people of Karbi Anglong.”

A participant from the Karbi community said they will discuss the outcome with other stakeholders.