In its latest bid to free forests from encroachments, the Assam government carried out multiple eviction drives in several locations of the Lumding reserve forest in Hojai district. 

On November 7 and 8, 2021, at least 145 Garo and Chakma tribal families were evicted by the forest department. These included 55 Garo families in Paglabasti, 60 Garo and Chakma families in Hajibasti and 30 Garo families in the Langsipai area. In addition, 200 Muslim families living in Kamarpani and 170 families in Bhetnala were also evicted from the reserve forest.

The government started the eviction drive on September 30, 2021, under the directions of the Gauhati High Court. Thousands of security personnel, including Assam Police, Central Reserve Police Force and the paramilitary, were deployed to prevent any untoward incident. 

On November 11, the Indigenous Rights Advocacy Centre (IRAC) moved the National Human Rights Commission seeking immediate intervention against the gross ‘human rights violations’ of the tribespeople without rehabilitation and resettlement, terming it ‘illegal’. IRAC also asked the state to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh and issue land _pattas _(titles) to each of the evicted families. Representatives from the Muslim, Garo and Chakma communities submitted separate memorandums to the prime minister and the home minister indicting threat and repression.

The Lumding reserve forest, which also serves as an elephant corridor, covers an area of 22,403 hectares, of which 1,410 hectares were allegedly under ‘encroachment’. The forest department reportedly used elephants, excavators and tractors to destroy all establishments. According to officials, over 550 huts, along with other temporary structures, were demolished during the eviction. The authorities stated that as many as 1,000 people voluntarily left their homes.

According to local media reports, the Chakma families were provided temporary settlements in Deka Gaon. Suhas Chakma, founder of the Chakma Development Foundation of India, said that over 110 Chakma families have been illegally evicted from the Lumding Circle since November 8 despite the Chakmas inhabiting the area for more than 40 years.

On 9 November 2021, the All Assam Minority Students’ Union staged a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, alleging targeted harassment of the Muslim communities in Assam. Meanwhile, state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Hojai Police denied claims that land brokers were responsible for all the encroachment. The police subsequently detained a few land brokers for settling many families in the Lumding Reserve Forest in return for cash.

One of the evictees told the media that his family has been living in the area for more than 20 years and demanded the authorities to resettle them to a suitable place and provide some land. The headman of Langsipai Garo village told a local news channel that the people of his village did not want to vacate the land as they had nowhere else to go. Another person informed that the authorities notified them three days before the eviction instead of the procedural 15 days. The evictees clarified that they were assigned temporary rehabilitation in the Baghtila area as directed by the police and Circle officer; however, they claimed that the land was unsuitable as it did not have basic amenities. About 204 families were relocated to a temporary relief camp in a grazing reserve in Changmaji village, which is a recently harvested rice field with sharp stubbles, without access to safe drinking water or toilets.

“No sleep, no water, no treatment. The government should either kill us or save us,” a woman told the media as her 10-year-old child slept on the ground, looking visibly sick.

As of April 2024, around 100 families, including 300 children, who were evicted in November 2021, were rehabilitated in Nakhutia Janju camp in Hojai district, Assam.

In April 2023, a local Assamese newspaper reported that 50 children in the Doboka camp in Hojai district, not far from Nakhutia Janju, had fallen ill due to poor conditions in the camp. Gauhati High Court took suo motu cognizance of the news report and sent Senior advocate Bhaskar Konwar for a field visit.

The report submitted by Bhaskar Konwar painted an upsetting picture, describing the conditions at the camp as "worse than that of a cowshed." Konwar's report detailed the lack of basic amenities like toilets and bathrooms. "The tubewells…are full of iron and there is no provision for filtration. Additionally, there is no drainage system, no electricity...," the report stated.

The report also highlighted the residents' hardships: "Majority of them do not have proper clothing… They appear malnourished and have pale fingernails. Several children are still suffering from various ailments,” it stated.

Taking notice of these concerning conditions, the Gauhati High Court slammed the government and ordered the authorities to immediately address the issues and provide potable water supply in the camps.

While the East Mojo report had the number of families residing at the Doboka camp as 405, the Indian Express report stated it was 350.