Tripartite meet paves way for KAAC affidavit in HC on eviction by Jan 5

Guwahati: Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) will submit its affidavit before the Gauhati high court by Jan 5 in the case of eviction from grazing lands in West Karbi Anglong and Karbi Anglong districts.This decision was made during a tripartite meeting held on Friday among state govt, KAAC and the protestors demanding eviction of non-tribal from the village grazing reserve (VGR) and professional grazing reserve lands.The council has also been asked to fence the 8000 bighas of vacant VGR and PGR land in Kheroni in West Karbi Anglong to prevent illegal settlers from encraching on the area.Three petitions related to the case were filed before the court between July and Sept last year. However, the KAAC has not filed the affidavit till date.CM Himanta Biswa Sarma in the post-meeting briefing said, “A case challenging the eviction order for the PGR and VGR lands in Karbi Anglong is pending before the Gauhati high court. However, the KAAC has still not filed its affidavit. That is why the issue has not been solved.”“A decision has been taken that the KAAC will file its affidavit before the court by Jan 5 and the Karbi community will also submit their representation in the case. State govt will also request the court to pronounce the judgment as soon as possible so that state govt can take steps adhering to the court verdict,” he added.The CM said govt offices located on the VGR and PGR land will be shifted elsewhere.He added that there is encroachment on land of various govt departments that are outside the VGR and PGR area in Karbi Anglong. The council has been asked to free these lands of encroachment.He said the council will also provide a job to the next of kin of the person who died in police firing during the unrest on Tuesday and the state will provide an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh.The CM added that the council will cancel the trade licenses given to people residing on VGR and PGR land.“The next round of discussion will take place on Jan 17. Till date, we are expecting a good output from the court,” he added.