The Loktak Livelihood Mission (LLM), which was launched in 2018 for providing employment opportunities to fish cultivators and to make them self-sufficient in fish production, was started under the direction of Chief Minister N Biren with the Bishnupur deputy commissioner as the coordinator. However, the Loktak Development Authority (LDA) has not given clearance to LLM and an environmental impact assessment study has not been done yet. How then did the state government launch the mission?
Officials of LDA told this Imphal Free Press reporter that there is no mission document or report of the Loktak Livelihood Mission with the LDA. The role of LDA in the LLM is to supply phumdi (biomass) to the composting plant and the mission was started under the direction of the chief minister, they said. But, LDA has not provided clearance to LLM, the officials said.
The Loktak Protection Act does not allow any development without the LDA concern, but no information has been given to LDA. It is true that the LDA had done a pilot project of the mission at Toubul side in Bishnupur district, but that was to test whether the mission would be beneficial.
Further, after that pilot works, the LDA received no information of inaugural or any other report. The removal of phumdi from Loktak lake is a normal routine work of the LDA. The phumdis will be utilised in the phumdi composting.
The officials also stated that for that pilot work the amount spent on work is still pending. LDA heard about the virtual inauguration of 18 cage culture units and 11 pen culture units under the LLM through news reports, the officials said.
When questioned whether the chief minister of Manipur, as a law maker, violated the law, the LDA staff remained silent, diverting the answer as the Loktak Protection Act did not allow any development without LDA concern.
The chief minister, during the inaugural of 18 cage culture units and 11 pen culture units under LLM on January 8, 2022, said that the LLM was launched in 2018 as an initiative of the state government for bringing improvement in the livelihood of people living on the periphery of the Loktak Lake. It aims to increase the income of farmers by utilizing marshy land in and around the lake. The mission also aimed to provide employment opportunities to fish farmers and youths of the state.
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With a thought to save Rs 400 crore annually for procurement of fish from outside the state, the government has decided to be self-sufficient in fish production and to save draining of crores of money in fish imports. A total of Rs 15 crore has been earmarked in the budget for the LLM.
However, the chief minister, in 2018, while launching the mission, said that Manipur would become self-sufficient in fish production by 2020. While again on the inaugural day the chief minister said that the launching was an initiative for bringing improvement.
Those 18 cage culture units and 11 pen culture units have been constructed and were installed at various places of Loktak Lake, Takmu Lake and Thanga for ensuring sustainable economy of the people and increasing fish production in the state. More units of cage culture and pen culture would be installed, the chief minister said then.
While speaking to the fisheries department project inspector and officials, they stated that the mission takes cognizance of the fact that the the lake is a part of the Ramsar Convention and is of national and international importance. Hence, various activities are planned so as not to affect the ecology of the lake.
When the pilot project was started, the committee headed by the deputy commissioner was constituted to raise funds and supervise the implementation of the project. It also decided to expand the Ningthoukhong project to other four locations of Moirang, Oinam, Wangoi and Mayang Imphal.
The committee also consisted of Block Development Officer, divisional forest officer, project director of LDA, district fisheries officer, district agriculture officer, district horticulture officer, district veterinary officer with technical support of KVK and Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay institute of agricultural science, Utlou and farmers representatives.
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The fisheries department also stated that a survey was conducted and an area of around 5800 hectares was identified which can be used for the project. Moreover, for phase 1, an area of 1000 hectares of the project had been identified for cage and pen culture. The pilot programme was started from Toubul.
It may be mentioned that Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India and is famous for the floating phumdis. The largest of all phumdis covers an area of 40hms and is situated on the south-eastern shore of the lake. Considering the ecological status and its biodiversity values, the lake was initially designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention on March 23, 1990. It was also listed under the Montreux Record in June, 1993.
The area of the lake is 236.21 km square, comprising large pockets of open water and marshy land formed at the southern part of the Imphal valley. The lake is divided into two zones namely core zone, which is no-development zone or totally protected zone comprising 70.3 km square and the remaining area is called the ‘buffer zone’.
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The purpose of the project was a livelihood enhancement programme, with an aim to improve the livelihood security of the rural folk in lakeshore areas of the Loktak Lake within Bishnupur district of Manipur, it is a participatory bottom-up approach. Implementation of appropriate land and water-centric as well as location-specific livelihood options through comprehensive initiatives, such as agriculture, horticultural production, aquaculture practices along with a suitable integrated farming system with a view of up-scaling the mass rural communities in the region. The project team in collaboration with farmer’s interest groups will manage field implementation at the selected sites for a specific activity.
Local alliance has been proposed in order to have a network with a wider group of constituencies and stakeholders beyond the selected site for free flow of ideas, exchange of views, publicity of the works, strengthening the linkages, wider dissemination of the work and dialogue process at each and cluster level.
It also stated that the purpose of the project is to ensure food security, improve nutritional status and reduce the poverty of marginal and small farmers and their families by boosting agro production and improving income generating opportunities at the household and community levels along the peripheral low lying rural areas.
The objective of the mission is to expand integrated farm practices to promote fisheries, poultry, duck rearing, hydroponics, etc. to supplement farmers’ income in Loktak Lake areas, and the conversion of phumdis into organic fertilizers using vermin-compost and mixing with other raw materials.
Speaking exclusively to the Imphal Free Press, about LLM, ALLAFUM secretary Oinam Rajen Singh said that the main livelihood activity of the people surrounding the lake is fishing and harvesting aquatic plants. Out of total capture fisheries, more than 80 per cent of fish catch is from the lake itself, but the harvesting techniques are age-old traditional unique. The traditional systems have changed to accommodate population pressure. “Athaphum” fishing involves two broad activities - “Phum Thaba”-construction of circular phumdi enclosures and Phum Naba- the harvesting phase. The income from Athaphum is higher than other means of livelihood.
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Rajen is of the view that the Loktak Livelihood Mission will not help or support any original fisheries of the Loktak Lake. The mission gives beneficiaries to some people who are not original fisheries of the Lake, he said. The mission is for taking mileage by the government, to say that the government had done the development project or mission for fisheries. But the actual benefit will not get to real fishers of the lake, he said.
Rajen also said that LLM is a useless mission that will not benefit any fishermen. Upon such a useless mission, the LLM is not included in the Integrated Management Plan. Then how did the government start the mission, he questioned.
The Loktak Lake is a Ramsar site any development work should have concern with the LDA but the LDA informed him that the authority has not given any clearance tp the mission, Rajen said. And he asked whether the chief minister of Manipur forcefully inaugurated the pen culture and cage culture. If it was such, then the chief minister as a lawmaker violated the law and neglected the LDA, he added.
It may be mentioned that cage aquaculture is defined as rearing of aquatic organisms in a volume of water enclosed on all sides with cage netting materials, including the bottom while permitting free circulation of water through the mesh of cages. The technology is suitable for almost all kinds of water bodies provided there is sufficient water depth so that the bottom cage net is at least 2 m above the bottom of the water body. Pen culture is to keep fish in confined areas to facilitate feeding.
