Manipur: CM Biren Singh warns illegal encroachers to demolish constructions from Govt lands  

On Saturday, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh warned unlawful land encroachers to remove any constructions built on government land, including paddy lands.

The chief minister was addressing at a ceremony organised by the BJP Khundrakpam Mandal and the Peace and Development Co-ordinating Committee at Yumnam Khunou's Lainingthou Puthiba ground.

People should avoid illegal land encroachment, he said, adding that the government will continue to undertake a drive against such encroachments throughout Manipur, including the Loktak lake area.

According to N. Biren singh illegal land encroachers who build illegal constructions on paddy fields will be charged if they do not remove the structures promptly.

He said that only illegal land encroachers are being evicted by the government. If the government has to evict those who already possess patta property, he said, a notice will be sent to them ahead of time with the appropriate land compensation amount.

People face flash floods every monsoon season, according to Biren, due to illegal land expansion near river banks and illegal drainage works. Biren urged that encroachments should be avoided not only in the valley but also in the hills.

He urged people not to cut trees in the hills unless they are old enough to be used, in order to develop a better ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Mutum Churamani, a member of the district monitoring committee who is also the president of LOUSAL and a Kairang resident, said that despite the chief minister's call to save paddy land, some Kairang residents are putting foundation soils in the centre of 'Phouren Loukol' (best paddy farm soil).

On Saturday, during a field visit with Kairang people, it was noticed that soil was being dumped in some Kairang loukol (paddy field) paddy fields to construct houses or other constructions.

The Manipur Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2014, will be made effective, according to Churamani, and will be part of the new BJP government's 100-day plan.

He said that despite his  promise to strengthen the Act,  the number of construction sites has been increasing, while he expressed concern over the increase in illegal structures on paddy fields within the Heingang assembly constituency.

Furthermore, wealthy individuals have begun developing  houses in the middle of paddy fields. He said the government should look at the matter seriously before strengthening the Act, drawing the attention of the chief minister.

Churamani urged the government to remove the structures from the paddy fields of Kairang as part of the new government's 100-day plan.