Mapping up

Jorhat, March 19: Dispur has decided to carry out cadastral survey of areas bordering Arunachal Pradesh in Sadiya subdivision of Tinsukia district following reports of “systematic” encroachment of land by the neighbouring state in recent times.

Cadastral survey pertains to a map or survey showing or including boundaries and property lines.

An official source in Guwahati told this correspondent that a meeting held on March 6 in Dispur discussed the encroachments by Arunachal Pradesh government of Assam’s land in the past 10 years.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of principal secretary (revenue), V.K. Pipersenia and attended by home commissioner Jishnu Baruah, Upper Assam division commissioner S.I. Hussain, Tinsukia deputy commissioner S.S. Meenakshi Sundaram and officials of the revenue and the home departments.

After discussing at length reports of encroachments done systemically in several areas under Ambikapur and Amarpur gaon panchayats (GPs) of Sadiya subdivision, the meeting decided to send teams from the revenue department to carry out cadastral survey of villages of Assam that are still under the administrative control of the Assam government.

Lohit, Lower Dibang Valley and East Siang districts of Arunachal share a boundary over 70km with the two gaon panchayats of Sadiya. Both gaon panchyats have over 80 villages.

Sadiya subdivision, with its administrative headquarters at Chapakhowa, is on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra and is over 500km northeast of Guwahati.

Sources said the move was aimed at creating land records and maps of the areas under which a number of villages and also vast forest areas fall. An official said several areas falling under Assam according to records of Survey of India have been occupied by the Arunachal government by constructing roads, schools and clearing of forests and collecting revenue tax in some areas from the local people.

Pointing out that the land survey was very much needed, the official said the government would only have proper geographic data, detailed information of land and could collect revenue from the villagers after issuing land pattas to them, who have been occupying the land. Most of the population in both the gaon panchayats was from the Mising community.

He said within one month the process will start with teams from revenue department in association with local revenue staff will visit the bordering areas located in a rough terrain with rivers, forests and huge tracts of foothills.

A day before the meeting was held in Dispur, the Sadiya sub-divisional administration destroyed about 10 huts at Kopopathar and Deuri villages just north of Kundal Kalia Reserve forest under Ambikapur gaon panchayat. The huts were allegedly built by settlers from Arunachal Pradesh. He said in the past two years, the Assam government had been “strongly” asking the Tinsukia administration to prevent encroachment attempts.

A series of proactive steps like opening of educational guarantee centre under Sarba Siksha Abhiyan at Majgaon and two ration shops at Madhya Gohpur villages (under Amarpur gaon panchayat) have been taken in recent times.

A report by the Upper Assam division commissioner recently after Hussain had toured areas of the both the gaon panchayats, to the chief secretary said the Arunachal government in recent times was trying to encroach into Assam land. A few years back, it had constructed a black-topped road inside the Kundal Kalia reserve forest under Ambikapur gaon panchayat, the report added.

The report said the Arunachal government was laying claim to many areas under Armarpur gaon panchayat (currently under the administrative control of the Assam government).

It said a place called Etsum region (ward nine of Amarpur gaon panchayat) north of Dibang Chapori has been claim by Aruanchal as its own.

Near it a few years back Arunachal had set up a revenue circle office naming it Paglam revenue circle, which was within Assam territory, the report said.