Form a Burning Field of Assam

 1 Gunned Down, Many Brutally Beaten:
 Peasants, Orange-Orchard & Tea- Garden Workers Fought Govt Land Acquisition

On 7th September '06, govt officials along with Assam Police and CRPF forces went to lapetkata in dibrugarh district to measure the land proposed to be acquisitioned for a Gas Cracker Industry to be set up by the Gas Authority of India Limited [GAIL]. Local people resisted and Police, CRPF let loose armed state terror. Many villagers, including ladies, were brutally beaten up and one person died having bullet injury.

It is to be noted that the state govt declared that 1108 acres [roughly 440 Ha] of land in dibrugarh district would be acquisitioned for construction of the Gas Cracker plant by GAIL. Promptly sonowal kachari Students union, main tribes of that region protested against the proposal and accused the State and Central govt for harassment of the tribal people in Assam. That proposed land is not only fertile for normal cultivations, but there are also large orange orchards and tea gardens. A huge number of orchard and garden workers will be victimised and ousted if the govt can proceed with its plan. In that proposed area, there are also many Bengali karmakar-s, once blacksmiths then mostly turned to peasants, living there for almost 150 years and they were assimilated with Assamese Nationality.

It is to be mentioned that no categorical amount of compensation against the proposed land acquisition has been declared by the govt of Assam. The govt only declared that the owners of mayadi patta (permanent owner of land) would get compensation. It is to be noted that a big portion of that land is owned as ak shani patta (cultivator determined as owner for one year), who are enjoying and cultivating the same lands for the last 150 years. As regards new employment, a joint statement has been published by the concerned Gas Cracker industry and govt of Assam wherein they stated that only 650 permanent workmen would be appointed. The local youths know that they will not attain the skill needed by the said industry and none of them will be appointed. Very few of the local youths will get jobs of peons and doorkeepers at the cost of their highly fertile land.

Looking back, the AASU and the Central Govt led by the then PM Rajiv Gandhi arrived at an agreement in the year 1985 wherein this Gas Cracker Industry was included. Therefore, ASSU had taken the issue of Gas Cracker Industry as their achievement. On contrary, concerned villagers comprising tribes, mainly sonowal kachari s, Assamese, Bengalis, Orchard & Garden Workers have decided to resist the land acquisition at the cost of their lives.

CSWTU [centre of struggling workers and trade unions] Assam State Committee published a bulletin opposing the lapetkata land grab in particular and uniting with the masses fighting against land grab throughout India in general. The people of the concerned area responded positively to the content of the bulletin published by the CSWTU and appreciated the prompt move, CSWTU being the first organisation to reach them reacting on this issue; worker travelling 500 miles from the state capital to reach those remote north east Assam villages is not a common incident nowadays. The lapetkata people are going to organise a convention soon and chalk out future moves.

A Reader

Guwahati, 11.11.06