Our correspondent
Imphal, Feb. 19 (EMN): Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Mon. ordered encroachers along river banks in Manipur to voluntarily move out from the areas by March 3 2018. He has warned that failing to do so would compel the government to evict them by force.
The chief minister made the statement during inspections of dredging work being undertaken at various river areas in Imphal. Speaking to media persons about encroachment along river banks, Biren said that land encroachment was one of the major problems that was causing flash floods in the state. Under the Flood Plain Zoning Act, no land deeds within 30 feet from around the river can be issued to any individual, he said.
Legally no one can reside within these protected areas, he said. If an individual got “patta” (land deed) within such areas, it may have been obtained by forgery or it could be that fake documents may have been used, he said. Under the Manipur Land Records & Land Revenue Act and Flood Plain Zoning Act, he said, the government has started to undertake certain steps including serving show-cause notices to land encroachers.
Biren Singh has appealed to the people of the state to remove by March 3 crematoriums, houses, clubs, toilets etc. which are being constructed along river banks. He said that the government would ‘try its best to protect and save lives and damage caused by floods.’ ‘Before the monsoon season, we will be dredging the river beds of rivers such as Imphal River, Thoubal River, Iril River and Kongba River etc,’ he said.
Eviction of encroachers at river banks will begin soon to mitigate damage that may be caused by floods during the rainy season, Singh said. ‘If we rely on centre’s financial assistance for cleaning up the river beds in the state, then we will definitely face the suffering caused by floods in the next rainy season,’ he observed.
Under the non-lapsable central pool of resources, Manipur state was given INR 15 crore out of which INR 10 crore was used to procure ‘bored piles and other machineries to dredge river beds’ in the state. With the remaining INR 5 crore, he said, the water resources department has started dredging work with rented machinery, he said.
During the inspection, Minister for Water Resources Letpao Haokip said that the department was charting plans to set up protection from flash floods in the near future. He said there was a master plan to clean the entire stretch of Imphal River from Kairang to Lilong area. ‘We have started dredging work along the Imphal River at selected areas which are prone to floods,’ he said.
