Manipur Forest Minister Th Biswajit on Tuesday announced that a total of 29,208 illegal encroachers in reserved and protected forests have been identified during a recent survey.
The government has served eviction notices to 90 per cent of these encroachers, with the eviction process currently underway, he said on the Assembly floor while responding to a policy cut motion raised by opposition MLA Th Lokeshwar during the demand and discussion session on the Department of Environment and Forests.
“It is a significant achievement of the government to have clarified the boundaries of protected forests, reserved forests, and unclassed forests,” said Biswajit.
He added that the identification of 29,208 illegal encroachers is part of this ongoing process, with eviction notices already served to 90 per cent of them. So far, the government has evicted 413 illegal encroachers, he said.
The state of Manipur has 37 reserved forests, 23 protected forests, and several unclassed forests, covering 74.34 per cent of the total area of the state. Biswajit noted that the forests of Manipur are primarily threatened by illegal encroachers, illegal poppy cultivation, the mushrooming of new villages, and other factors.
Addressing a separate policy cut motion raised by opposition MLA Surjakumar Okram regarding the failure to curb the smuggling of forest products, Biswajit highlighted the forest department’s increased revenue collection since 2019.
He stated that the department collected Rs 10.09 crore in 2019-20, Rs 6.21 crore in 2020-21, Rs 8.01 crore in 2021-22, Rs 27.5 crore in 2022-23, and a total revenue of Rs 30.96 crore in 2023-24.
Regarding the transportation of large quantities of timber along highways, Biswajit acknowledged that while 95 per cent of it could be smuggling, 5 per cent might be legally transported. He assured that any illegal transportation of timber that is confiscated will be auctioned by the government following necessary procedures.
