Meitei Alliance seeks action on illegal land grabs
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, January 17 2025:
Meitei Alliance has urged Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and chief minister N Biren Singh to order probe and process appropriate action against encroachment and land misappropriation in reserved and protected forests, claiming these irregularities are surfacing amidst the ongoing crisis.
In a memorandum, the Alliance expressed concern over illegal encroachments, alleging involvement of corrupt officials in such Unauthorised practices.
Among the affected locations mentioned in the missives addressed to the chief minister and the Governor, include K Songjang Protected Forest and Khuga Reserved Forest in Churachandpur, as well as the Khamenlok Gwaltabi Reserved Forest in Ijnphal East, spanning 31.08 sq km.
The memorandum pointed to these encroachments as focal points of the current crisis.
The Alliance also highlighted unprecedented increase in the number of villages in the state, which has nearly doubled from 1,957 in 1969 to 3,856 in 2023, an addition of 1,899 villages, along with highlighting that 87.2 per cent of the growth - 1,656 villages - is concentrated in Chandel, Tengnoupal, Kangpokpi, and Churachandpur districts, predominantly inhabited by Kuki communities.
It argued that such expansion raises concerns about potential illegal encroachments into reserved and protected forest lands.
The memorandum said the state has a recorded forest area (RFA) of 17,418 sq km, including 1,467 sq km marked as reserved forests, 4,171 sq km protected forests, and 11,780 sq km unclassified forests, while inferring that many of the newly established villages might have encroached on these forest lands, leading to fraudulent compensation claims during land acquisitions for national highway projects.
Calling for immediate action by the government, seeking thorough surveys and investigations to rectify land records, ensuring transparent land compensation, and preventing legitimisation of encroachments, it warned of long-term environmental, administrative, and political consequences if the issue remains unaddressed.
The Alliance reiterated its commitment to protecting the state's land, forests, and heritage, while calling for collective responsibility to secure the state's future.