People’s Alliance for Peace and Progress Manipur (PAPPM) has organized a protest against the encroachments of public and government land in front of Kangla Gate today. More than 100 members of PAPPM shouted slogans showing support for the stand of CM N Biren’s decision to expel the encroachers from State land and Reserve Forest areas.
In Manipur, some individuals and private organizations with vested interests are encroaching the public and government lands. They have been trespassing on the properties of the government for a long time. The common people are suffering due to their selfishness. PAPPM firmly believes that such encroachment of public land must be stopped immediately in the interest of the people.
Parking problems in the Imphal city are a burning issue, even drains and roads are water-clogged if it rains for a few hours. Public lands are often encroached and there is no enough space for drains to solve the water-clogged roads. Rampart deforestation of reserve forest areas by people living in the vicinity of the forest is causing floods frequently. And when we need water the most, it is drought where we could not manage water for our daily needs. Our water bodies are also depleted or about to extinct. We see several new villages in these water bodies.
Every year, we saw scuffles between the government and encroachers. The illegal encroachers of government lands are creating a lot of problems in the past, it will continue in the future as well. These people will tarnish the efforts of the government in a different communal tone. They will even drag religion into the eviction of encroachers.
PAPPM President M Bobby Meetei warned that Private companies and individuals should refrain from encroaching the government land. If these individual tries to occupy the government lands, they should be checked immediately and punitive measures must be taken against them. For the last 2-3 decades, public lands are freely encroached on by individuals, where they establish new villages, and infrastructures, even rename places, etc.
He concludes that, if we fail to stand together against these encroachers, future generations won’t witness any development changes, rather it will cause hindrances to the policies and plans of the government. We won’t be able to preserve the natural resources and environments. Our state will face a myriad of problems in the days to come.
PAPPM is also happy to see the political will of the present government’s stand on safeguarding and protecting the public land for future generations. People must come forward to support its stand on protecting the state land to be used for the benefit of people.
In short, PAPPM lays down two points for the protection and preservation of public lands. The government must identify those encroached lands and carry out the eviction drives immediately. The second point is to utilize these encroached lands for the welfare of the common people.