CM urges MLAs to take onus of saving paddy lands
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 11 2021: "I feel like crying on seeing the ever shrinking paddy lands.

With all the agricultural lands vanishing right before our eyes while there is a prohibition on settlement in hill areas, we don't know where we shall go", stated Chief Minister N Biren in a very touching tone while discussing a demand for grant pertaining to Agriculture Department in the State Assembly today.

Asserting that the Government has failed abjectly in protecting arable lands, Opposition MLA K Ranjit raised a cut motion.

Even though Revenue Department deals with matters relating to land, a high level committee comprising of officials of Agricultural Department, among others was constituted to study the ever shrinking paddy lands and submit a report to the authority concerned, Ranjit said.

If the new structures being constructed on paddy fields along highways and roads are taken into account, it is highly questionable whether the high level committee is serving their purpose or not, he remarked.

CM urges MLAs to take onus of saving paddy lands

The high level committee should be allowed to function properly and they should assist the Government in all endeavours towards protection of paddy fields, Ranjit said.

Responding to the cut motion raised by K Ranjit, N Biren who is also the leader of the House expressed deep sorrow over the loss of arable lands every year.

Driven by a conviction to protect paddy lands, all legislators joined hands and enacted the paddy land Act, Biren said.

Pointing out that Manipur is a landlocked State with limited resources and a couple of landslides on highways often create scarcity of essential commodities, the Chief Minister underscored the paramount necessity of protecting paddy lands.

The Paddy Land Protection Bill was tabled in the State Assembly twice starting from 2012 .

The Act did not mention anything about structures built on paddy lands before 2014 .

Nonetheless, a penal provision has been incorporated in the amendment Bill which would be tabled during the ongoing Assembly session, Biren said.

Claiming that the Government has been working hard to protect all agricultural lands particularly paddy fields, Biren informed the House that notices were sent to 102 individuals in Kakching, 56 persons in Bishnupur, 70 in Thoubal, 437 in Imphal West and 216 in Imphal East in connection with cases taken up for protection of paddy lands.

In addition, eviction cases were taken up against three individuals in Thoubal and eight persons in Imphal West, he said.

Of all the people who were served notices, 79 were pulled up.

Whereas the Act is being implemented for the first time, the land owners believe that they are free to do whatever they like with their paddy fields.

As such, the defaulters who were pulled up for violating the Act were released on PR bonds.

Taking into account that the paddy land Act is being tabled in the ongoing Assembly session for necessary amendment, the defaulters were released after they were warned against repetition of their unlawful activities, the Chief Minister stated.

Asserting that protection of paddy lands is a matter of paramount importance in the interest of future generations, Biren pointed out that all the Members of the House should share the responsibility of saving agricultural lands.

Biren then expressed keen desire for every Member of the House to launch awareness campaigns in their respective Assembly segments on inviolability of the Paddy Land Act.

The Chief Minister assured that the Government may help the Members in carrying out the mass campaign.

K Ranjit went on to ask N Biren to make an announcement on the floor of the House to the effect that all structures built on paddy lands after 2014 would be dismantled.

N Biren replied that the Paddy Land Act is relaxed for structures built on paddy lands before 2014 but it has certain provisions for structures built after 2014 .