“We have been living here since the time ‘ek sher’ (about one kilo) of rice cost just 8 to 12 annas,” said 80-year-old Rahima Khatun, a resident of Santoshpur village. “I have all the documents– maybe even more than Himanta Biswa Sarma’s family has. How can he evict us from this land?”
As the Assam government plans to make a 3400 MW thermal plant in Dhubri district, hundreds of Miya Muslim families residing in the area are living under the fear of eviction.
The thermal power generation project, under the Assam Thermal Power Generation Project Promotion Policy 2025, will be set up at Chirakuta Charuabakhra village in the district and has been touted as a step towards energy efficiency and job creation in the state.
Spanning over 5000 bighas of land across four villages, locals alleged that the project will impact at least 10000 people, mostly landless Miya Muslims, predominantly associated with agriculture and fishing. Residents from Charuabakhra, Santoshpur, Chirakuta Part-1 and Chirakuta Part-2 villages fear that the government will evict them from their ancestral land.
Amid concerns of rights violations and forced eviction raised by activists and locals, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the proposed site on 24 June 2025.
According to a PTI report, the state government had selected a site in a tribal dominated area in Kokrajhar district, but widespread protests by residents forced the government to shift the project to Dhubri.
Rights activists and community leaders sounded alarm that such large-scale evictions in Muslim-majority areas under the guise of infrastructure development could deepen communal divides in Assam. They are calling for transparency, public consultation, and fair compensation before any further step is taken.
The government has been undertaking forced evictions in recent years, mostly targeting the Miya Muslims in the state. The eviction drives in Dholpur in Darrang, Kachutali in Kamrup, as well as recent displacements at Hasila Beel in Goalpara, have led to the loss of homes, land, and livelihoods for thousands of flood-affected Miya Muslim households, often without proper rehabilitation. These evictions were accompanied by a heavy police presence, demolition of homes, and instances of violence, such as the police firing during the Dholpur eviction, which resulted in the deaths of two locals and left many others injured.
“Targeting poor Miya Muslims is easy for the government,” said Raijor Dal leader, activist Ashraful Islam. “But acquiring land in tribal areas might hurt its pro-indigenous image.”
A temporary camp has been set up near a field in Charuabakhra village to accommodate police forces at the proposed project site.
According to PTI, Chief Minister Sarma has assured compensation and rehabilitation to affected people who have been legally living in the area– presumably, the government’s rehabilitation programme will not include people residing on government land. “I don’t believe his words. He has made false promises many times, and no one has received proper rehabilitation,” said Majibar Rahman, a 30-year-old migrant worker from Santoshpur village.“We won’t believe any promises until they rehabilitate us before eviction. We are in great distress right now,” added Rahman
For people like Jakir Hussain, the land is the thread that ties him to his roots. “My father was born and died here. His grave is here. If we are forced to leave, we will lose all traces of our roots”, Hussain, a local electrician, said. Hussain resides in Miyadi patta land and two of his children go to the school which lies within the land marked for acquisition.
Majibar Rahman has lived on government land his entire life, but has received benefits of welfare schemes including Atal Amrit Abhiyan and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojona (PMAY).
“If they take our home, where will we go? We will be finished if there is no proper rehabilitation,” the 52-year-old small shopkeeper said. Lamenting that no political leaders came to enquire about their condition, he added, “Despite voting and trusting them, not a single leader has come to us when our homes and lives are at risk.”
Locals claimed that among over 2000 families, at least 120 families live on their own land (Miyadi patta) with land deeds in the villages, and the remaining people are settled on non-allotted government land. The state government has set up public infrastructures, including a public health centre, schools, a stadium, as well as piped drinking water facilities under Jal Jeevan Mission in the area for the residents.
35-year-old Johir Uddin’s family has been living here for more than 50 years in Santoshpur village. His children go to the nearby primary school in the village, which was established in 1977, and now comes under the land marked for the thermal power plant. “I’m worried about my children. What will happen to their future if they can’t go to school?” said Johir Uddin.
Adding to the tensions, the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL), the state’s power distribution company, has already begun fencing parts of the land. Locals alleged the move by APDCL is “the beginning of a forced takeover”. Locals alleged that frontline health workers, including ASHA and ANM staff, have been withdrawn from the area following the announcement of the project. With many pregnant women living in the affected villages, the lack of basic maternal healthcare services has raised serious concerns about potential health risks and neglect.
“This feels like harassment of Muslims in the name of development,” a local said on condition of anonymity. Aklima Begum, 60, said, “No Hindu will be harassed the way we are under Himanta’s regime.” Aklima added, “Allah created this land so that we can live on it. If someone forces us to leave this land, Allah will not forgive him.”
Guwahati-based independent researcher Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman highlighted the long-term environmental risks of setting up the thermal plant. “Coal-based thermal plants pose serious ecological threats. They can disturb the area’s microclimate and significantly add to global warming,” he noted.
“We are living in anxiety, fear, and the risk of losing our homes, institutions, and even the graves of our ancestors”, Halima Begum, a 35-year-old woman of Santoshpur Village.
The administration made public announcements with the presence of a heavy police force in the area on asking residents to vacate the place by 6 July.
Assam’s energy demand is projected to rise significantly, reaching an estimated 5,000 MW by 2030 and 7,000 MW by 2035, according to the PTI report, and to meet the consumption demand, the state government has floated the thermal power generation promotion project.
Kazi Sharowar Hussain aka Kazi Neel is a filmmaker, journalist and a poet from Barpeta, Assam. He currently heads Itamugur Community Media, a platform that amplifies the voices of the marginalised communities.
