The politics of turning ancestral tribal land into ‘reserved forest’ in Manipur

Amidst the calamitous onslaught of the second wave of Covid-19 in Manipur, where hundreds have died, thousands have been affected by the disease and tens of thousands are struggling to make ends meet due to loss of livelihood, the state government has considered planting trees and landmarking the so-called Kanglatongbi to Kangpokpi Forest “reserved” as an urgency above all things.

Earlier, in 2020, the state government had released an order to declare the Koubru range as a reserved area. In May 2021, Manipur’s Forest, Environment, and Climate Change minister, Awangbou Newmai, asserted that Mount Koubru falls under the Kanglatongbi-Kangpokpi Reserved Forest, which was declared as such in 1968 under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Interestingly, the tribes inhabiting the forest have no knowledge of the said statute, which was formulated before Manipur attained its statehood and before the Hill Area Committee came into existence.

Does all land belong to the state?

While attending the first mass tree plantation at Mangjol village, Kangpokpi District, Manipur chief minister N Biren Sing was quoted saying, “All lands belong to the state government.”