NGT halts construction of Tiger Road

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Dec 28: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has halted construct-ion of the ring road, known as German Road or Tiger Road.
Construction of German Road or Tiger Road which passes through six hill districts but skirts the valley districts was primarily initiated by the World Kuki-Zo Intellectual council (WKZIC).
Challenging the construction of the particular road, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity  (COCOMI) convenor Khu-raijam Athouba filed an application before the NGT Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata.
After hearing both the sides, the tribunal passed an order on December 23, 2025 which categorically stated that the construction of the particular road must be halted till February 2, 2026.
The order passed by NGT Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata Judicial Member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Expert Member Ishwar Singh, after studying the facts and circumstances of the case and citing ‘precautionary principle’ embodied in Section 20 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, directed that no one should carry on construction of the particular ring road till February 2, 2026.
The tribunal also directed the Chief Secretary of Manipur to issue necessary directives to the concerned District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police of all the six districts to ensure that no further construction of the road is carried out.
Speaking to media persons at their Lamphelpat office this afternoon regarding the NGT’s order, COCOMI convenor Khurai-jam Athouba welcomed the order and expressed hope that the tribunal will do justice.
In the midst of the violent crisis, WKZIC took the initiative of constructing the 343 Kms long road by clearing vast forest areas without seeking approval from any of the relevant Government authorities, he said.
After naming the road as German Road or Tiger Road, gates were constructed and pictures of these gates were circulated on social media.
Even a memorandum was submitted to Union Minister of Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari to black-top the particular road, Athouba said.
He said that the road was constructed in unlawful manner.
There is no indication that the road will be used for development or convenience of public. Rather it is meant for clandestine movement of armed militants, drug trafficking and transportation of weapons, he said.
Athouba said that Senior Advocate Irom Lalit Kumar (through video conferen-cing) and Advocate Dipan- kar Thakur (physically) appeared before the tribunal on behalf of him.
The respondents include the Union of India (represented by Secretary, Minis- try of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) and others.
The first hearing of the case was held on August 20, 2025 and the tribunal directed the Chief Secretary of Manipur (respondent no 2) to submit a preliminary report regarding the particular ring road within four weeks. When the case was taken up for the second time on September 4, the State Government, instead of filing a reply, sought four weeks’ time, and the tribunal granted the request.
The State again requested two weeks’ time on October 27.
The case was taken up again on December 23 and the Chief Secretary cited the need for re-verification of the information submitted by Forest Divisions of the six districts, and sought four weeks’ time, Athouba said.  
While granting the time sought by the Chief Secretary, the tribunal passed an order categorically stating that construction of German Road or Tiger Road should be halted till February 2, 2026. In the meantime, COCOMI is preparing to make the WKZIC liable in connection with the case and seek legal action against the Kuki-Zo body in the next hearing.
COCOMI will continue to appeal to the tribunal to deliver justice to the people of Manipur, he added.