‘Poppy cultivated hill ranges not under Forest Dept’s control’

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Mar 13: Hill ranges which are under poppy cultivation exist as community lands and as such, they are not under the control of the Forest Department, according to Forest, Environ- ment & Climate Change Minister Losii Dikho.
Clarifying to a cut motion raised by MLAs K Ranjit and Th Lokeshwar while discussing a demand pertaining to the Forest, Environment & Climate Change, Losii Dikho stated that the Government has been working hard to check poppy plantations in the hill areas.    
He said that it is difficult to identify the owners of poppy plantations and the lands where poppy plantations are done.  
The Forest Department cannot keep all the areas where poppy plantations are done under its control. Most of the lands where poppy plantations are done exist as community lands, the Forest, Environment & Climate Change Minister stated.
Even though concerned district administrations, Forest staff and police destroy poppy plantations from time to time, the department cannot permanently control poppy plantations, he said.
There is an urgent need to devise a mechanism so that land owners and owners of poppy plantations can be identified and arrested, he added.
He also assured that special attention will be given to illegal excavation of soil from  foothills and stringent action will be taken up against those involved in illegal excavation of soil.      
Construction of roads through forest areas will be done only with forest clearance and the Forest, Environment & Climate Change Department will take up necessary measures to protect Barak River, Losii Dikho said.
Raising the cut motion, Ranjit said that 211 square Kms of forests were lost in Manipur between 2021 and 2025, and one major factor for the loss of forest areas is widespread poppy cultivation in the hill areas.
Saying that there reports of emergence of several new villages in reserved forest areas in the hills in the aftermath of the May 3, 2023 violence, Ranjit said that the State’s forest cover is shrinking so fast that Manipur may soon become inhabitable.
Lokeshwar said that 90 per cent of the State’s total geographical area is hills.
When seen from aeroplanes, many of the hill ranges appeared totally bare with trees and plants except small flowering plants, he said.
Lokeshwar asked the Government how many individuals involved in poppy plantations have been arrested and punished so far.
He went on to ask why the Government is not pulling land owners on whose lands large poppy plantations are done.
He also highlighted the need to ensure that the tens of thousands of tree saplings planted every year survive and thrive.
He also sought immediate attention of the Government toward excavation of soil from foothills by Keystone for construction of Imphal ring road, and to protect foothills.