Agricultural land disappearing before formulation of Land Use Policy
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, May 19 2013:
Paddy fields are fast diminishing in the State while the Government is struggling to formulate Land Use Policy to save the agricultural land.
Vast paddy fields in the State have been acquired by Government agencies as well as private individuals for construction of office buildings, schools and residential houses.
This phenomenon is likely to pose serious problem in the agricultural sector of the State.
Remarkably, the local bodies of Kairang and Laipham Khunou in Imphal East district have banned construction of houses at paddy fields today.
Around 30 local organizations of Laipham Khunou, Lairikyengbam Leikai, Kairang and Ahallup jointly formed a committee known as "Local Area Protection and Preservation Committee" way back in 2004 for preserving fertile agricultural land in the State.
Advisor of the Local Area Protection and Preservation Committee Dr M Manimohon said that the Committee has been preventing construction of schools and other buildings at the paddy fields of Laipham Khunou and Kairang area.
There is no communal and personal bias against anybody who takes up construction works at the paddy fields.
The Committee is working impartially for the preservation of fertile agricultural land in the area, he asserted.The members of the Committee today inspected the construction sites and instructed the owners to stop all construction works at the paddy fields.
Moreover, the labourers working at these sites were mostly immigrants hired by local contractors, Manimohon said.
The Committee has also assured the owners of arranging proper homestead land for constructing houses instead of those paddy fields.
It may be mentioned that the State Cabinet has deliberated on the issue of formulating Land Use Policy to save agricultural land in the State.
A core committee has also been set-up in this regard.
However, the State Government should take up effective measures to preserve fertile agricultural land even before introducing the Land Use Policy.
People are now concerned with fast diminishing paddy fields in the State.