Officials barred from surveying protected forest
Source: Chronicle News Service / Kaimuanthang Mangte
CCpur, April 11 2023:
Leaders and volunteers of Kuki Students' Organisation, Churachandpur and Zomi Students' Federation (ZSF) prevented officials and staff of forest and revenue departments from conducting land survey for Khoupum protected forest on Tuesday.
Officials and staff of forest and revenue departments were conducting land survey for Khoupum protected forest in Sielmat village area but they were sent back by the two Churachandpur based student bodies without completing the surveying process.
Briefing the media in this regard, KSO Churachandpur vice president L Minlal Gangte said that a joint team of KSO and ZSF rushed to Sielmat village after learning about the land survey for Khoupum protected forest without prior consent of the people, village chief and village authority.
He said that officials present at the site were unable to furnish documents for carrying out the survey when demanded though they claimed that instruction notice was with the range-officer (RO) concerned.
One official on duty, however, informed that they were instructed to cross check the geo-coordinate points of Khoupum protected forest area and survey had already been finished in three villages of Churachandpur district - Bungmual, Pearsonmun and Headquarter Veng, L Minlal Gangte said.
According to L Minlal, survey has to be done prior to announcement/declaration of Protected Forest or Reserved Forest as per the rules of Indian Forest Act 1927 but the Khoupum protected forest area was notified in 1960s without conducting survey.
After many years, survey for Khoupum protected forest area is being initiated now.
This is totally not going by the book of Forest Rules, he said.
KSO had raised objection against the ongoing survey and even approached the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) on the matter, L Minlal Gangte said, adding that declaration of Khoupum protected forest was illegal as no prior consent of the people was taken.
More than 38 villages have raised their objection to this.
The NCST has also instructed the state government to give response regarding the issue, he said while asserting that KSO will not accept any kind of land survey without prior consent of the people.
He appealed to the state government to refrain from conducting land survey and immediately stop the survey until giving prior information to the people.
ZSF general secretary Samuel also urged the government to stop the survey immediately as it is being conducted on private land.
He said that Sielmat village has chief and village authority and the village has never been a government land.
He also appealed to the government to stop surveying tribal private lands.
Meanwhile, Churachandpur LM Khaute uploaded a post on social media stating that he has taken up necessary steps with officials of departments concerned and urged them to do the survey, if necessary, by following due process including obtaining consent of village chiefs and local residents.
A joint survey needs to be undertaken with the village chief and other stakeholders, if necessary, he said, adding that relevant steps shall be taken up within the next few days.