More than 1,800 hectares of land belonging to 303 Vaishnav monasteries in Assam are under encroachment, an interim report prepared by a panel of MLAs has revealed.
The Commission for the Review and Assessment of Problems of Satra Land submitted the interim report to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday evening.
Founded by 15-16th Century saint-reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva, a Satra is a Vaishnav monastery that also serves as a centre of traditional performing arts. According to the Assam Satra Mahasabha, the apex body of such monasteries, a total of 862 Satras exist in India.
“An aggregate of 7,504 bighas or 1,898 hectares of land is under encroachment across 303 Satras in Assam,” Mr. Sarma said, lauding the three-member panel of MLAs for compiling the interim report.
The MLAs are Rupak Sarma and Mrinal Saikia of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Pradeep Hazarika of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), who is the chairman of the committee.
“According to the report, Barpeta district accounts for the largest Satra land under encroachment followed by Lakhimpur and Nagaon districts. The Satras in Bongaigaon and Dhubri districts have also been encroached,” the Chief Minister said.
He said the formation of the commission was a first-of-its-kind attempt in resolving the issue of encroachment of Satra land. The interim report shall now be administratively reviewed and follow-up action will be taken in accordance with the law of the land, he added.
Evicting encroachers from Satra land has been a poll promise of the BJP since 2016, when it first came to power in alliance with the AGP and the predominantly tribe-based Bodoland People’s Front. According to the party, a majority of the encroachers are migrant Muslims who are perceived to be “Bangladeshis”.
Barpeta, Bongaigaon and Dhubri are three of 11 districts where Muslims are in a majority in Assam.
