Jirimukh reserve forest unprotected, ownerless
Source: Chronicle News Service / Lukhoi Atom

Jiribam, April 26 2023: If the ongoing deforestation activities continue unabated and the authority concerned remains adamant from taking up necessary steps for protecting the forest, Jirimukh reserved forest area in Jiribam district would soon exist only in name.

While government authorities are unable to protect and look after the forest, local people have claimed the area to be their own and even started planting various crops including betel nut saplings by clearing trees.

Located on the south western side of Jiribam police station, Jirimukh reserved forest has its own boundary and the forest department possessed relevant documents.

However, local people have long been clearing tree's and planting various crops without any intervention from the department.

As such the Jirimukh reserved forest left only in the official record is imminent.

With the local people seemingly naive about reserved forest or the punishment they might face for illegal activities carried out in forest area, it is important for the department to make the local people aware on the matter or else local people will continue with illegal activities.

When a team of media persons from Jiribam inspected the Jirimukh reserved forest on Tuesday, vast areas of the forest were found planted with saplings of various crops like tree bean (Yongchak) and betel nut.

A staff of Jirimukh forest range office told the media team that the area covered by the reserved forest seems to be embroiled in a dispute for the past many years.

Deforestation activities carried out by local villagers have stopped after intervention by the department but some areas have been cleared for plantation activities to be carried out by the department.

The present chief of Somapunji village, considered to be located within the Jirimukh reserved forest area, also known as Girgal village, Laichungam Hmar told the media team that Somapunji village was established by his grandfather in 1924 and the village has been paying hill house tax since 1931/32.While furnishing tax receipt, he also said that the village provided a piece of land to the forest department for constructing check post in 1940 and then started planting some teak saplings on trial basis.

However, no agreement was signed and the area where teak saplings were planted by forest department still exists today as sampling plot, he added.

According to Laichungam Hmar, majority of Somapunji villagers are poor and hence rely on farming activities in the hill slopes for survival.

He also informed that Somapunji village located close to Jirimukh forest office earlier was shifted to the present somewhat plain area around 20 years back due to landslide and other incidents.

He further informed that there has been no information from forest department that Somapunji village is within Jirimukh reserved forest though there had been report of the department erecting some boundary pillars secretly.

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