Assam Governor Applauds Eviction Drives and Economic Performance Amid Noisy Assembly Session
Guwahati: Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, addressing the state assembly on Monday, strongly commended the BJP-led government's extensive eviction drives, emphasizing that "decisive action was taken to address long-standing issues of land encroachment." He revealed that a total of 1.45 lakh bighas of land has been successfully recovered through these initiatives.
Disruptions Mark Start of Budget Session
The four-day budget session, specifically a Vote-on-Account, commenced amidst significant turmoil. Opposition MLAs stormed the well of the House, staging protests and raising slogans throughout the governor's address, which lasted approximately 45 minutes. These noisy scenes persisted, highlighting the tense political atmosphere as the state prepares for upcoming assembly elections. The vote-on-account is scheduled to be presented on Tuesday.
Detailed Breakdown of Recovered Land
In his interim budget speech, Governor Acharya provided a comprehensive breakdown of the land recovered:
- 1.1 lakh bighas belonging to wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, and reserved forests.
- 26,713 bighas of government khas land.
- Land under VGR/PGR and other public categories.
Enforcement of Immigration Laws and Deportations
On the enforcement of the Immigration (Expulsion from Assam) Act 1950, Acharya reported that from May 2021 to 2025, Foreigners' Tribunals disposed of 59,757 cases and declared 30,264 persons as foreigners. During this period, a total of 1,517 persons, including Declared Foreign Nationals (DFNs), Convicted Foreign Nationals (CFNs), and fresh illegal migrants, were deported or sent back.
Significant Decline in Crime Rates
The governor highlighted Assam's top national ranking in implementing new criminal laws, achieving a 78.13 percent score. Crime rates have seen a dramatic reduction:
- Overall crime declined sharply from 379 per lakh population in 2021 to 121.6 per lakh in 2025, a 72 percent reduction from 1.33 lakh cases to around 38,000.
- Crime against women decreased by 87 percent, from 29,046 cases in 2021 to 3,915 cases in 2025.
- Crime against children declined from 5,282 to 4,753 cases in 2025.
Additionally, between 2022–23 and 2024–25, child marriage rates fell by 84 percent among girls under 18 and 91 percent among boys under 21, exceeding national averages.
Anti-Narcotics Drive Achievements
On the anti-narcotics front, Assam registered 14,503 cases under the NDPS Act between 2021 and November 2025, resulting in over 23,000 arrests and seizures valued at more than Rs 2,900 crore. Acharya noted that this represents nearly four times the arrests and a multiple-fold increase in recoveries compared to previous decades.
Economic Growth Outpacing National Average
Governor Acharya emphasized Assam's robust economic performance, citing the Reserve Bank of India's latest assessment. Assam emerged as India's fastest-growing state, with its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) expanding by 45 percent between FY20 and FY25 at constant prices, the highest among all major states and significantly outperforming the national average growth of 29 percent.
During this period, at current prices, the state's GSDP is estimated to cross Rs 7 lakh crore in 2025–26, more than doubling over the last five years, underscoring the region's economic resilience and development strides.
