Unreliable village chief
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: April 01, 2023 -

IT is rather ridiculous that a hill village chief has been arrested along with six others in connection with setting wildfire and felling of trees in a Kangpokpi district village area on Thursday amid fierce objections raised by tribal organisations against eviction of encroachers from reserved forest and outright contention that the government should not infringe on rights of the tribal communities with regard to forest.

Since time immemorial, majority of the tribal population has been depending on forest and its allied produce for sustenance.

As it's a question of survival and government could not ensure source of livelihood to all, successive establishments had been rather sympathetic to the forest dwellers and living under the impression that descendants of the tribal forefathers would continue to nurture the forest and use its resources judiciously.

However, increasing instances of mass destruction of forest, encroachment in reserved and protect forest areas and detection of poppy plantations on a large scale forced the government to issue notifications that tribal communities are liable to face punitive action in case of unsustainable usage of the forest resources.

Sensing intensity of the damage done to the natural environment on account of poppy plantations as well as establishment of new villages in the hills, including in reserved forest areas, chief minister N Biren along with ministers and top officials discussed infiltration of illegal immigrants, mass deforestation for poppy plantation and encroachment on protected forest areas and decided to fight all these illegal acts effectively in an emergency meeting held on March 24.

In another meeting on the same evening, the chief minister discussed issues relating to forest, revenue and hill villages with top officials of relevant departments and decided to launch a drive for identification Of illegal immigrants and adopt effective mechanisms to save reserved and protected forests.

Amid such concerted effort of the government and frequent appeals for public cooperation and contribution in safeguarding the forests, Imphal East district police rounded up seven people including a village chief for starting bushfires and cutting down trees.

Contrary to the government's appeal and hope of all sane persons that the village chiefs would at-least accord importance to protecting the forest, it is disheartening to learn that six accused people indulged in the deforestation activities at the behest of S Molnom village chief, presently a resident of the posh Haokip Veng in Imphal East district.

Such irresponsible act merits suitable punitive actions as unrestrained destruction of forests is the root cause for exchange of hate speeches on the social media platforms and widespread calls for conduct of an elaborate exercise to isolate the infiltrators, seen as the culprits behind the widespread poppy cultivation, from the native population.

Taking into account of the latest edition of the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) that highlighted reduction of 492 square kilometres of forest cover in nine hill districts of Manipur from the year 2011 to 2021, it is imperative for the government to take toughest measures and action without which efforts to save the forest would be a futile exercise.

Moreover, similar to the government of Manipur occasionally rewarding and commending police teams for seizing narcotic drugs and busting illegal drug manufacturing units, personnel of law enforcementagencies who successfully prevent deforestation activities deserve motivation from the higher ups as protection of forests would be decisive in lessening the imminent impact from global warming.

It is also suggested that decisions taken in the March 24 meeting be implemented impartially at the ground level as any sort of negligence or sympathy against the wrong doers would only result in further deterioration of the environment and embolden selfish individuals to take advantage of absence of law enforcement agencies in remote parts of the state.