Committee for probe into encroachment in reserved forest
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, June 03 2022: While declaring its support to the state government's initiative to protect reserved and protected forest areas, Joint Forest Management, Committee, Top Awang Leikai has demanded the government to conduct an enquiry into the encroachment in Chingkhei Ching and Nongmaijing hills reserved forest areas.

In a statement, the committee expressed suspicion of revenue department manipulating the forest map of Chingkhei Ching reserved forest area and allotment of land plots to several individuals, who are living in Tinsid Chingol area under the reserved forest area.

The committee filed an RTI application seeking information on the land owners in the area.

In response, the department replied that it has no documents related with the land plots in question as all the related documents were lost in a fire incident that occurred at the SDO office Porompat in 1997.Further enquiry at the settlement office also failed to yield any answer, the statement informed that drew the attention of the government to initiate an enquiry on the matter.

As per record of Central Forest Division, the area of Chingkhei Ching Reserved Forest is 14.23 square kilometres but an area of around 42.7 hectares is included in revenue map with several individuals and societies holding land plots.

A joint survey of forest and revenue departments conducted in May-June 2020 reported large area of the forest land being included in the revenue map.

However, revenue department claims that this map dates back to 1960, it continued, and pointed out that presently, there are 13 encroachers in Tins id Chingol area out of which seven have land holding documents and six do not.

The encroached land includes a plot where forest department had a nursery plant some years back and several plots where a local playground was located.

A central government school was also constructed in the reserved forest area without any clearance from the forest department in addition to a plot allotted for the temple without forest clearance, the Committee maintained while reiterating demand for proper enquiry.

Maintaining that Chingkhei Ching Reserved Forest was declared by Manipur Durbar in 1937 and there is clear cut boundary and a map to support the fact, the committee questioned the modalities of converting large area of the reserved forest into revenue land in 1960 as well as silence of the forest department on the matter for all these years.

The committee also pointed out that the present condition of Nongmaijing Reserved Forest area is in a critical state.

Nongmaiching hill is a sacred religious site for Meetei community but large area of the forest land had been converted into revenue land with sevpral individuals holding land ownership lights.

The area was declared as reserved forest in 1991 with an area of 6.766 square kilometres.

There were only two households of a tribal community on the northern side of Nongmaijing hills in 1932, the Joint Forest Management Committee maintained.

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