VA calls upon unauthorized sellers, buyers of Lungphou land for settlement
Source: The Sangai Express

Kangpokpi, January 10 2017: Lungphou Village Authority has today called upon the alleged unauthorized sellers and buyers of its land to approach the chief of Lungphou village or the village authority to compromise or settle the matter as per the Thadou-Kuki tribal customary law, reports our correspondent.

The statement issued by village authority secretary Sehlen Misao stated that those unauthorized sellers and buyers of Lungphou land have been informed as per the orders of the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kangpokpi district to approach the chief of Lungphou or the Village Authority within February 10, 2017 to compromise/settle as per the Thadou-Kuki tribal customary law.

Failure to comply with the order, the matter will be decided by the higher court, it stated.

The orders issued by the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kangpokpi, Government of Manipur on January 9, 2017 stated that non-tribal Nepalese had settled as villagers in the land of Lungphou after granting permission by then Lungphou chief (L) Phongseh Misao as per a written agreement on January 13, 1958 .

It also established that Lungphou Nepalese were to be under the authority of chief of Lungphou village in custom and administration, but not in religion while paying the customary tributes as agreed by them in the agreement of 1958 including Changseo (one tin of paddy per year), Samal (hind leg of a hunted animal) and Khotha (one day labour per year) .

It further stated that Lungphou Nepalese are to pay Hill House Tax as was paid by them earlier through the chief of Lungphou village under the purview of the Manipur Hill Areas (House Tax) Act, 1966 .

It said that the claim of Lungphou Nepalese paying grazing tax since 1970 cannot be considered as valid as the land of Lungphou is not notified as a grazing area while the revenue taxable land of Lungphou village comes under the purview of the Manipur Hill Areas (House tax) Act, 1966 .

The orders also established that the claim of Lungphou Nepalese claiming the land they had purchased from (L) Phongseh Misao as their private land cannot be considered as valid as they (Lungphou Nepalese) cannot produce any sale deed/documents to support their claim and the land of Lungphou village does not have any Dag Chitha since it is an unsurveyed land which is not covered under the MLR& LR Act, 1960 .

It further nullified the claim of Lungphou Nepalese having separate system of local self-government, Panchayat, VDC etc as the land of Lungphou does not come under the Manipur Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 while it is legitimately under the purview of the Manipur (Village Authorities in Hill Areas) Act, 1956 .

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