COPTAM urges HAC Chairman to protect tribal rights, land
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 29 2012:
The Committee on Protection of Tribal Areas, Manipur (COPTAM) has urged the HAC Chairman for safeguarding tribal land and rights under Article 371 (C) and other Constitutional provisions.
In a memorandum to the ADC Chairman, COPTAM Chairman Letpu Haokip has urged for the immediate transfer of all hill land records to their respective Hill district as bounded by the original hill district boundaries.
Stating that levying of dual taxes ( Hill House and Land Revenue) to tribal in some hill areas is injustice, the COPTAM memo demanded rectification of the same.
On district boundary and Manipur map, the COPTAM representation demanded that the State government should issue an order and enforce to maintain district boundary as per original villages' boundary based on the The Manipur State Hill Peoples' (Administration) Regulation, 1947 and the map should be re-drawn as per original hill district boundaries.
Pointing out that Jiribam is originally part and parcel of the Hill district, COPTAM maintained that it should either remain to be a part of the hill district or no part of any hill district is affected in case the Government decides to upgrade the area into a full-fledged district.
Alleging that the Government attempted to convert Moreh into a municipality/urban areas against the wishes of the tribal people, the memo posited that the town can be a 'census town,' but it could not be a 'statutory town,' because of the fact that 80 percent of the people in the area is indigenous tribal who owned and managed the land according to their customs for ages with three District Council Constituencies.
It further demanded that Moreh, which is in Chandel district should be treated as rural area in all aspects.
The COPTAM memo also urged that reserved and protected forest declared without the knowledge and consent of the Scheduled Tribe land owners be returned to the rightful owners.
Observing that the proposed Manipur (Village Authority in Hill Areas) 2nd Amendment Act, 2011 failed to address the core issue of giving legislative, judiciary and financial power to the ADC, and poses a direct threat to the institution of the existing tribal traditional chieftainship, it conveyed its opposition to the Act in toto.
It further pointed out that instead of administering pockets of the hill district from adjacent valley district, more number of police must be created within the hill areas where necessary.
COPTAM also demanded that no part or section of the Manipur Land Reforms and Land Revenue (MLR & LR) Act, 1960 should be applied in the hill districts of Manipur while cautioning that any attempt to introduce the Act in the hill districts would be opposed tooth and nail.
The COPTAM added that introduction of Panchayati Raj institution in some parts of the hill districts is unfair, deceptive and unbecoming manipulation of the tribals by the State Government that is now manifested in another form and should be withdrawn immediately for peace and tranquility in the State.