"Assam governor involved? Takeover of land for solar plant termed 'forcible, illegal'", 3 May 2021

A fact-finding report prepared by the civil rights group Delhi Solidarity Group (DSG) has alleged “human rights violations and forcible takeover of land in Mikir Bamuni Grant village for a 15MW Solar Power Project of Azure Power” in Assam, stating, “State officials, especially form local and district administration, facilitated the illegal and unjust takeover of the land.”

Insisting that “the land and forests of Assam belong to the indigenous and adivasi people of Assam and must be returned back to them”, a DSG note on the occasion of the formal release of the report says that the construction of the solar part was undertaken “with blatant abuse of police power, employed to terrorise local people into submission”, claiming, the Assam governor “has been found to be involved in authorising the illegal transfer of land to Azure.”...

The report establishes that Azure Power was assisted by district authorities, revenue officials and police in forcibly taking over land that was being cultivated by the villagers, and in abject violation of judicial orders, and also laws and policies. The construction of the solar part was undertaken with blatant abuse of police power...including a variety of serious human rights abuses... The report further establishes that the solar power plant is being constructed on fertile agricultural land that has been cultivated for decades, and was full of standing crops, and which was illegally destroyed by Azure...