Escalating Tensions at Assam-Nagaland Border Due to Land Encroachment

Tensions are rising along the Assam-Nagaland border as residents in Jorhat district report alarming instances of land encroachment by armed groups from Nagaland. Locals claim that their agricultural lands are being seized for rubber plantations, with little action from authorities. Community leaders are urging the Assam government to intervene and reclaim encroached lands, ensure security, and facilitate dialogue to address these ongoing issues. The situation remains precarious, with fears of violence and further encroachment looming over the affected communities.

By Narendra Chaudhary Jun 27, 2025, 16:02 IST

Rising Tensions in Jorhat District

Jorhat, June 27: The situation along the Assam-Nagaland border has intensified, with alarming reports of new encroachments surfacing from the Mariani region of Jorhat district. Residents have accused armed groups from Nagaland of illegally seizing Assamese territory and clearing protected forest areas to create settlements and rubber plantations.

The latest conflict zone is Nagajangka, where locals assert that land previously used for agriculture by Assamese families has been appropriated for a rubber garden, allegedly by armed individuals from the Naga community who have cleared the area by setting parts of the forest ablaze.

A distressed local from Nagajangka expressed, “This is our ancestral land. We have farmed here for generations.”

He added, “They have destroyed it, set fire to the forest, and just last week planted rubber saplings. When we raised our voices against this, they threatened us and ordered us to leave. The police intervened once, but now there is no presence from the administration.”

Residents report that the newly formed Bihato settlement within the Dissoi Valley reserved forest area, part of the New Sonowal Range of the Mariani Forest Division, signifies the start of aggressive encroachment.

Since then, satellite villages and plantations have proliferated in nearby areas, all of which belong to the Jorhat forest circle.

Villagers from Udaypur Basagaon, Panchwal, and Nagajangka have expressed serious concerns regarding the increasing frequency of armed intrusions and the apparent inaction of authorities.

Despite ongoing allegations of administrative support from Nagaland in establishing settlements within disputed forest areas, residents claim that neither the Assam Police nor the Forest Department has taken effective measures to resolve the situation.

A local resident lamented, “In the past, forest guards would conduct inspections. Now, they don’t even come. The Nagas enter with weapons, seize land, destroy trees, and set up plantations. How can we live in constant fear?”

Community leaders and civil society members are now calling for immediate action from the Assam government to:

Recover encroached land in protected forest areas,
Implement security patrols along sensitive border sections,
Deploy joint teams of forest officials and police, and
Initiate inter-state dialogue to address these ongoing violations.

Despite numerous inter-state discussions and court-monitored boundary agreements, the execution on the ground remains inadequate, leaving local communities exposed to repeated encroachments and violence.

Previously, on June 11, a new settlement comprising approximately 15 houses was reportedly established by armed Naga encroachers within the Dissoi Valley Reserved Forest area, close to the New Sonowal Forest Office and the Border Observation Post. This followed the earlier establishment of the Vikto Akahuto settlement in the same reserved forest region, both of which locals allege were created by armed settlers from Nagaland.