Agitation by Illegal encroachers at Sora in Manipur

Last Updated on February 17, 2023 by SPN Editor

Chief Minister N Biren’s clarion call to the people of Manipur is loud and clear. Don’t intrude or encroach the reserve forest areas or state land. The illegal agitation by some encroachers at Sora is very disturbing and fueling tension in the State. Well, this must be a lesson to every one who intrudes into govt land and claiming the ownership.

At least five people and an assistant sub-inspector of Kakching Police have been injured following a clash between locals and the police in Manipur in today’s incident. With regard to the ongoing project at Yaithibi Loukol, no one has the right to disturb the development in and around the construction of Mega Food Park.

It was impractical for some encroachers at Sora and neighbouring areas to take laws in their hands and prevent the survey team for the work going on at the Yaithibi loukol.

They are habitual agitators. In 2016, when Union Minister of State for YAS, Vijay Goel came to inspect the proposed National Sports University, some people from Sora village had disrupted the inspection. Most of them are not land owners. The illegal agitation has backfired them that neighbouring villages decided not to allow any person from Sora village to cross Khongjom Keithel.

Why people of Sora are obstructing the survey work and boundary constructions of the government project at Yaithibi Loukol need to be analysed deeply? It is reported that the five villages, namely Langthabal, Yaithibi Khunou, Koijam Village, Laiching Minou and Sora village are present around the Mega Food Parks. Of these five villages, Sora village is the biggest one, having 1402 households while others have less than 100 households.

The Kakching Zila Parishad Upa Adhakshya Md. Najimuddin was reported to have criticize the State government for encroaching on their lands beyond the agreement for the construction of National Sports University. He blamed the survey officials for encroaching on houses of many locals and Masajit of Sora which was not in the agreement.

Meanwhile, residents of Sora village have encroached several government khas lands to construct kabristan, mosque and other illegal properties. For example, there is no patta in the old Dag Chitha of 1963. However, in Dag Chitha number 187, Khomei Miya, son of Md. Ningthoujao Miya of Sora was listed as “Encroacher”. We will get the names of more encroachers if carefully checked the settlement records. There is big difference between land ownership and encroachers.

The government must not step back, people will support the stand of the govt to evict encroachers from state land and reserve forest areas. Some punitive action must be carried out to those officers and official staffs who are helping these encroachers to have patta in the State land.

State government is the rightful owner of 336.93 acres of land in Yaithibi Loukol. The Mega Food Park and other projects are spread at the foothills which is not ideal for farming.

Centre has already sanctioned Rs 43.25 crores in 2020, which will have facilities like 1500 MT cold storage with deep fridge, fruit juice machine dehydration machines. These projects are very much related to the farmers and will surely help the local farmers of Yaithibi Khunou and nearby hill tribes.

The so called activist are misguiding the innocent farmers and local residents by playing double standard games. When it was question of National Sports University, these hypocrites were supporting the govt.

Now, they keep shouting that the Mega Food Park project violates the Manipur Conservation of Paddy Land and Wet Land Act 2014. It threatens the livelihood of farmers and the government should consult the farmers before the project was taken up.

The new land acquisition Act says that neither social impact assessment nor consent from affected people is required if the proposed project us for security, defense rural infra, industrial corridors and social infra.

Even in case of the agricultural land, multi crop irrigated lands can also be acquired by the government for the above projects. The ongoing project at this Loukol which is meant for allied agricultural purposes and being a public project it is exempted under the Manipur Conservation of Paddy and Wetland Act, 2014.

The Yaithibi Loukol is the property of State government, all the pattadars were compensated to the tune of Rs 11, 52,40,200. Even after getting this huge amount, some people are trespassing the govt land and claiming ownership. The Sora incident must be the precursor of the mass eviction drive of encroachers from different parts of the State.