Guwahati, Aug. 19 -- Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday welcomed the Gauhati High Court order directing the state government to fence forest areas to stop encroachment and said the government will carry out more eviction drives in the future.

CM Sarma said the court's decision had also prevented the Congress from announcing the return of land to alleged encroachers.

"The Gauhati High Court has delivered a historic judgement. The Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court said that the government should bring a stern regulation to prevent new encroachment. The government should take action against those government officers under whose watch a large-scale encroachment took place in forest lands," CM Sarma said at a press conferen...