India, July 21 -- Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday claimed that 10 lakh acres of land in the state has been encroached by "illegal Bangladeshis" and "doubtful citizens".

"We have taken the pledge to clear every inch of land from encroachers, suspected Bangladeshis," Sarma said.

The Assam CM made the remarks while speaking at a programme marking four years of completion of the setting up of Gorukhuti Mulitpurpose Agriculture Project.

Sarma also alleged that the Assam government had come under "international pressure" to halt eviction drives after the operation at Gorukhuti in Darrang district in 2021.

The operation cleared 77,420 bighas (25,500 acres) of land from alleged encroachers, during which two persons includin...