The Gauhati High Court, in a hearing last week, made sharp observations about the allotment of 3,000 bighas of land (around 4 square kilometres) in Assam’s tribal Dima Hasao district to a private company to set up a cement factory, directing the state to furnish the policy under which “such a huge chunk of land” has been allotted for the purpose in a region under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Dima Hasao is a tribal majority hill district in Assam, administered through provisions under the 6th Schedule of the Indian Constitution with an autonomous council, the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC).
In October 2024, a plot of land measuring 2,000 bighas was allotted to Mahabal Cement Private Limited, a private company with its registered address in Kolkata, and in November that year, it was allotted another adjacent plot of 1,000 bighas of land.
The allotment order, issued by the Additional Secretary, Revenue, NCHAC, states that the purpose of the allotment is the installation of a cement plant.
Incidentally, Mahabal Cement had signed an MoU for investment worth Rs 11,000 crore with the state during the Assam government’s mega investment summit, Advantage Assam 2.0, in February this year, in which a company spokesperson had said that they would set up a cement plant in Dima Hasao.
During a hearing on two petitions concerning this allotment last week, including one by a set of locals alleging that they are being evicted from their land for the purpose, a Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi made the remarks when the counsel for the company, G Goswami, mentioned that the size of the allotment is 3,000 bighas.
“3,000 bighas!… What is going on? 3,000 bighas allotted to a private company?… What kind of decision is this? Is this some kind of joke or what?” he remarked during the hearing.
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While the initial petition had been filed earlier this year by the company, seeking protection from “disturbances created by local villagers” in construction work, Justice Medhi said last week that the court would like to examine the policy under which and the process through which the land was allotted to the company.
In its order, the court referred to the size of the allotted land as “extraordinary”.
“A cursory glance into the facts of the case would reveal that the land which has been sought to be allotted is about 3,000 bighas, which itself appears to be extraordinary. Ms. Goswami, the learned counsel, has, however, submitted that such allotment has been made pursuant to a mining lease granted under a tender process,” states the order.
Directing the state to provide information on the allotment process, the court also noted the rights of tribal residents of the area concerned, as well as its environmental sensitivity.
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“This court directs Shri C Sarma, learned Standing Counsel, NCHAC, to obtain the records containing the policy to allot such a huge chunk of land measuring 3,000 bighas to a factory. The aforesaid direction has been given by taking into account that the district is a 6th Scheduled District under the Constitution of India, where the priority has to be given to the rights and interests of the tribal people residing there. Further, the area involved is Umrangso in the district of Dima Hasao, which is known as an environment hotspot containing hot spring, stop over for migratory birds, wildlife, etc,” states the order.
The Umrangso region in Dima Hasao has widespread coal, limestone and granite quarrying activities and a cement plant.
