Umrangso, Dima Hasao: When Timajos Terang saw drones flying over his house and land in the summer of 2024, he was intrigued. 

A sturdy farmer who grows sesame, paddy and vegetables, Terang knew of drones from movies and videos, but it was the first time he had seen one. At the time, he didn't know their purpose, but later, he heard from others in the village that the drones were surveying the area around his home for the location of a future cement plant.  

 “That is how we got to know about the plant,” said Terang, 30, standing outside his traditional tin-roofed bamboo house in the village of Chotolarpheng in the Dima Hasao district of southern Assam. In 2020, 92% of the district was natural forest, under which lie several minerals. One of those is limestone, a crucial raw material for making cement.

One among the 30-member North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC)—which governs this tribal district independently under a Constitutional provision—offered Terang and other villagers Rs 200,000  each for their land. He said he could not say who it was. No one from his village accepted the offer, but some families from the neighboring village of Nobdi Longkukro did.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party that governs Assam, also runs the NCHAC.

Nobdi Longkukro, inhabited by the Dimasa tribe, and nearby Chotolarpheng, home to the Karbi tribe, were originally the two villages meant to lose land after the Assam government set aside 3,000 bighas—about 1,000 acres, or the size of nearly 756 standard football fields—to Kolkata-based Mahabal Cement Company Pvt Ltd for a cement plant.

“Earlier this year, people from our village were offered Rs 2 lakh by members of the council, and like most villagers, I also accepted the cheque,” said 38-year-old Gokil Langthasa, standing in a courtyard overlooking his thatched house in Nobdi Longkukro village.

Langthasa, a lean, muscular Dimasa man, sustains his family of four by growing sesame, paddy and vegetables. While modest, his house is surrounded by a sea of trees and a simple bamboo fence. He said he had heard that villagers were being asked to give up land for a cement factory, but no one had approached him directly.

When asked if he would give away his land, Langthasa said he would follow other villagers. But asked if he would part with his entire 10 bighas (0.025 acres) for the Rs 200,000 he had already received, he laughed: “No, why will I give away my entire land for just Rs 2 lakh! It is too little an amount.”

 In February 2025, Mahabal Cement Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the JK Lakshmi Cement Company, signed a memorandum of understanding worth Rs 11,000 crore with the Assam government at Advantage Assam 2, an investment and business summit. The company pledged to invest in phases, starting with a cement plant, for which the State had allotted 2,000 bighas of land in October 2024, followed by another 1,000 bighas in November.

Twenty-two residents of the two villages filed a writ petition  in the Gauhati High Court in February 2025 against the land deal. On 2 September, just before this story was published, police arrested six villagers, including three of the petitioners, for opposing the deal. They were released on bail that night.

‘Is This Some Kind Of Joke?’

While there had been 10 hearings when this story was published, the case gained attention after a hearing on 12 August 2025. Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi of the Gauhati High Court expressed shock at the size of the land grant to a private company in what is called a “Sixth Schedule area” protected by the Constitution.

In a viral video from the hearing, widely shared on social media, Medhi remarked: “3,000 bighas! That is almost an entire district? Is this some kind of joke or what?”

The Sixth Schedule applies to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. These districts are administered by autonomous district councils established under the Constitution to safeguard tribal land, resources, culture and autonomy. The councils hold legislative, executive and financial powers, including over land management, forests and village administration.

On 12 August, the Gauhati High Court asked the NCHAC to submit records detailing the policy that permitted the allotment. 

On 1 September 2025, a tense back-and-forth unfolded at the high court between government counsel Devajit Saikia and Justice Medhi, who asked what policy was followed in acquiring tribal land. Saikia told the court that a three-member committee had been set up to probe the allotment, pleading “miscommunication” when the judge said the court had not ordered any inquiry.

Justice Medhi said that while such inquiries were the State’s prerogative, the high court wanted to examine records and the policy behind the allotment. Justice Medhi said he was “perturbed, curious and shocked,” flagged inconsistencies in the state’s statements, noted that the land was part of an "ecological hotspot", and directed the government to file its affidavit by 3 September.

“Where is the environmental clearance from the government of India? How do you carve out a sixth schedule land?" said Justice Medhi. "How do you have a 3000 bigha cement factory there? Show us the records, if everything is proper. We will go strictly by the books."  

Asked to comment,  Samuel Changsan, executive member of the NCHAC said, “We can’t officially comment on anything as the matter is sub judice. We can just say that we have all the necessary documents, and everything is being done as per the norms.”

That did not appear to be the case.

‘How Can Outsiders Occupy The Land?’

Locals pointed out that in court hearings the company lawyer described their lush land as “barren”, and no environmental assessment was done, as the law required. 

They alleged they were given Rs 200,000-cheques without being told why, adding that they told the NCHAC such a factory would pollute their air and water, and that the land was their only asset.

For many like 24-year-old petitioner Sonesh Hojai of Nobdi Longkukro, the lack of consultation was the greatest concern. 

“In our village, the council never informed us about the land allotment,” said Hojai. “We depend on this land for farming, so how can outsiders come and occupy it?”

Article 14 sent an email to Mahabal Cement seeking comment. There was no response. We will update this story if they respond.

When Article 14 visited the site of the proposed cement plant, a board marked “JK Lakshmi Cement” stood over land guarded by two security guards. There was a container office, but no construction had begun. After we left, locals reported that the company had fenced some of the area.

Struggles Over Land In India

The tussle over tribal land is relatively new to Dima Hasao district.

The process of taking over such land began  in December 2023, when the Assam government issued a tender for auction of seven limestone mines in the district on 9,000 bighas of “government land”, the website Newslaundry reported in October 2024, even though it was not clear if it did belong to the State or was forest, in which case environmental clearances were required.

Across India, land conflicts have become the leading cause of community protest, especially in tribal areas, which are often draped in forests with minerals beneath. 

The database Land Conflicts Watch has reported at least 335 significant land conflicts affecting 7.3 million people across the country, spanning mining, infrastructure, energy, and industrial projects.

In Chhattisgarh and Odisha, Article 14 has reported how tribal and forest-dwelling communities resist displacement for mining and industrial projects, often without consultation or fair compensation.

A 2023 investigation showed how villagers in Odisha’s Sundargarh district resisted a steel plant that threatened to erase their farmlands, while in Madhya Pradesh, protests erupted over land acquisition for highways.

The lack of clear land titles, overlapping jurisdictions and weak enforcement of protections—particularly in tribal areas—continue to fuel resistance movements.

Between Resistance & Confusion

A source closely involved with the Dima Hasao case told Article 14 that when the petition in the Gauhati High Court was filed in February 2025, Nobdi Longkukro and Chotolarpheng were the only two villages affected. Later, the council cancelled part of the earlier allotment.

“Chotolarpheng inhabited by the Karbi community now goes out of the picture,” said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity since he was not authorised to speak to the media. “However, Nobdi Longkukro village of the Dimasas will still be impacted. Now, two other Karbi villages—Krumeng Langso and Borolangklam—might be affected as they fall within the newly identified area.”

Chotolarpheng residents remain wary, with nine villagers party to the writ petition. “We don’t know for sure that our land won’t be touched again,” one villager said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the two newly affected villages had not been officially approached, said Dipen Rongpi, secretary of the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC), a party active in Sixth Schedule districts of Assam and Meghalaya.

“Land, Nature, Life Are One For Us”

“For us, everything is connected to nature,” said Rongpi of the APHLC.

Hojai and others practice jhum (shifting) cultivation, a system of slash-and-burn farming that sustains households with sesame, paddy and vegetables. 

“Most of our people are not educated, and few can afford to go to college,” Hojai said. He kept reiterating the fact that land was their only asset.  

Hojai recalled villagers’ objections to council representatives: “We told them the plant would cause pollution and destroy our water sources. Yet, the council never paid any heed.”

He said every household was given Rs 200,000 in compensation without being told why. “Four members from the council came one night and handed us cheques,” said Hojai. “We were not told it was for our land. We found out later.”

Some families returned the cheques, said Daniel Langthasa, convenor of the Sixth Schedule Protection Committee. “Council members collected signatures on blank papers. Accepting money could later be used to prove villagers consented,” he said.

Locals told Article 14 the council currently values land at Rs 50,000 per bigha.

Past Displacement Shapes Resistance

Chotolarpheng farmer Ellis Timung, 57, said his village had already been displaced once by a dam for a hydroelectric project.

“Our village has been here 45 years,” said Timung. “We moved here in 1982 after our old village, founded in 1942, was submerged,” Timung said.

He said the Karbis had opposed the cement project since they knew of it. “We are already affected people,” said Timung. “The company may have spared our land for now, but there is uncertainty and no transparency.”

Langthasa of the Sixth Schedule Protection Committee said that most tribal farmland was common land without pattas (titles). “The Dimasa situation is complicated because their gaon bura (village headman) is under council pressure,” he alleged.

The independence of gaon buras, who traditionally oversaw land allocation, is eroding under council interference, Langthasa said.

Lack of Transparency, Legal Grey Zones

During hearings, the company’s lawyer described the land as “barren”, a contention disputed by former chief executive member of NCHAC, Samarjit Haflongbar.

“Dima Hasao has the highest forest cover in the state and gets ample rainfall,” said Haflongbar. “Land as huge as about 1,000 acres is not required for a cement factory. This allotment is against the Sixth Schedule and unconstitutional.”

The district, rich in biodiversity, is home to falcons, elephants, deer, wild boars and the occasional leopard. Locals said no environmental impact assessment was carried out, as the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, requires.

Rongpi of the APHLC alleged: “No proper survey was conducted. There is already a Dalmia cement factory here, which causes pollution.”

Justice Medhi rebuked the company counsel: “Your need is not the issue. Public interest is the issue.”

“We do not know whether the proper tendering process was followed,” said Langthasa. “Transparency is sorely lacking.”

Intimidation & Criminalisation

Villagers alleged intimidation by council leaders. On 30 October 2024, executive member of NCHAC Monjit Naiding allegedly snatched a gun from his security officer and fired at protestors resisting the land transfer. Villagers filed an FIR, but no action has followed.

Meanwhile, Mahabal Cement has sought protection from the High Court, branding protesting villagers as “miscreants”.

“The council, which is supposed to protect our land under the Sixth Schedule, has started acting as a facilitator for the state government, not as a defender of the villagers,” said Langthasa. “Worse, council members are profiting from this process.”

Authorities argued that the 2013 Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act (or the LARR Act) did not apply in Sixth Schedule areas. Even so, said Langthasa, “the council should provide fair compensation or arrange alternate land for affected villagers if the project cannot be stopped.”

Former council chief Haflongbar warned of the fallout: “After losing their land, people here will become landless labourers. Whenever these plants are set up, companies recruit outsiders. The tribals who are the original inhabitants of these lands will have nowhere to go.”

(Nabarun Guha and Sanskrita Bharadwaj are independent journalists from Assam.)

Update: This story was modified on 3 September 2025, to reflect the arrest of six villagers, including three petitioners, who opposed the deal.

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