1,400 Muslim families removed as CM Sarma lays foundation for Adani thermal plant

On nearly 1,157 acres of government land from which about 1,400 Bengali-origin Muslim families were evicted by the Assam government, Adani Power Limited is set to build a thermal power plant, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma laying the foundation stone for the project in Dhubri district on Sunday.

The 3,200 MW thermal power project, described by Sarma as Assam’s “biggest-ever power project”, is coming up across Charuabakhra, Chirakuta I and II, and Santoshpur villages under the Chapar revenue circle, where thousands of Muslims had lived for several decades before their homes were demolished, Scroll reported.

Nearly 10,000 Bengali-origin Muslims were displaced during the eviction drive, according to a report by Scroll, while residents said many of those affected were people who had lost their ancestral homes to erosion caused by the Brahmaputra.

The land was first allotted to the state-run Assam Power Distribution Company Limited, which subsequently allotted it to Adani Power for the proposed project, while the company has said that the plant could generate up to 20,000 jobs during construction and around 5,000 jobs after becoming operational.

However, the project has also raised questions over the rehabilitation of those displaced, as the company told the Union environment ministry that there were no habitations at the proposed site and, therefore, no rehabilitation or resettlement claims were involved.

Residents have disputed this assertion, with Abdur Rashid Sheikh alleging that the site had already been cleared through what he described as “forceful eviction drives”, leaving about 1,400 families without homes or rehabilitation.

Although the district authorities earmarked 300 bighas in Baizar Alga village for rehabilitation and sanctioned a one-time relief of Rs 50,000 for transportation, some displaced residents reportedly refused to move there, saying the proposed site was a low-lying riverine area surrounded by the Brahmaputra.

The district administration had proposed converting village grazing land for the project in March 2025, after which eviction notices were issued and homes were demolished.