Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has stated that his government has cleared 1.19 lakh bighas (approximately 43,000 acres) of land from encroachers in the last four years. However, he also noted that approximately 63 lakh acres (29 lakh bighas or nearly 10 lakh acres) of land in Assam remain under encroachment. Sarma made these remarks while attending an event commemorating the four-year anniversary of the Gorukhuti Multipurpose Agriculture Project.

Sarma asserted that the encroached lands are held by "illegal Bangladeshis and doubtful citizens". He stated that his government faced "international pressure" to halt eviction operations, especially after the controversial drive in the Darrang district in 2021, but remained undeterred. He said that the Gorukhuti drive, where over 25,000 acres were cleared of alleged encroachers, emboldened his government. The Chief Minister defended his government's actions, stating that the reclaimed land has since been used for reforestation and agriculture.

The Assam government has initiated a series of eviction drives. According to Sarma, the government will provide land to evicted people, provided they can prove they are landless and Indian citizens, not just landless at the evicted location but also in their native places.

Sarma has emphasized the need to protect Assam’s indigenous identity amid demographic shifts. He stated that infiltration into Assam started in 1930, and addressing this century-old problem requires a sustained effort. Sarma warned that demographic shifts in Upper Assam threaten the indigenous Assamese identity. He added that the eviction drives are aimed not only at reclaiming encroached land but also at restoring ecological balance, with the government planting trees and recovering wildlife habitats in the cleared areas.

The Gorukhuti project was set up after a massive eviction drive in 2021 that cleared 77,420 bighas (25,500 acres) of land from alleged encroachers, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims. During this drive, two people, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed in police firing. Sarma stated that the local population had long wanted Gorukhuti to be free from encroachment.