Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: A land war is heating up in Assam. The JEEPAL Krishak Sramik Sangha is fighting the state government over palm oil plantations in Bokakhat. The dispute centers on hundreds of bighas of riverine land at No. 1 Bokuli Sapori. Locals say they use this area to graze cattle and buffaloes. They never signed off on a commercial takeover.
The JEEPAL group claims the Golaghat District Agriculture Department tricked the community. Officials allegedly promised a project for Rabi crops, such as black gram, mustard, and sesame. A local cooperative, Gulung Temera Bahumukhi Krishi Samabay Rin Samiti, held a seed-sowing event on August 25. Golaghat District Agriculture Officer Ranjan Barua and NABARD official Bhaskar Parashar attended. Instead of requested crops, residents say workers planted palm oil saplings.
Tensions boiled over on September 28. Residents and JEEPAL staged a day-long protest at the site. Chief Adviser Soneshwar Narah hammered the government for its lack of transparency. "Who gave permission?" Narah asked. He wants to know if the government consulted indigenous Mising communities before backing the project.
Agriculture Minister Piyush Hazarika is under fire for pushing these plantations under the National Mission on Edible Oils. JEEPAL spokesperson Probin Pegu claims the government is handing over public land to serve large capital interests. The group demands a full public hearing and an environmental review. They cited a 2024 meta-analysis in Conservation Biology showing plantations can slash stream biodiversity by 44 percent. JEEPAL warned that the conflict could soon reach the edges of Kaziranga National Park.
The local police are now involved. Residents filed a request for help with the Khumtai Revenue Circle Officer, but nothing changed. Pegu is now demanding that the Golaghat District Commissioner step in to resolve cases filed at the Dergaon Police Station. The organization wants immediate answers regarding the legal status of the land and the true purpose of the planting scheme.
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