IMPHAL, September 25: The Ministry of Environment and Forest has instructed the state government to stop the ongoing construction works of Mapithel Dam, according to the Mapithel Dam Affected Villagers Organisation (MDAVO).
Addressing a press conference at Keishampat, Chairman of the MDAVO R Sakathan said the Ministry had cited the failure of the government to obtain the mandatory clearance from the Ministry before the commencement of the project.
The Ministry’s instruction followed a complaint by the MDAVO through the National Green Tribunal to the Supreme Court regarding the non-obtaining of the mandatory clearance from the Ministry, he said.
The state government had recently on September 12 set a March 2015 deadline for the completion of the said dam before the Planning Commission, he said.
The Thoubal Multipurpose Project (Mapithel Dam) was approved by the Planning Commission in 1980 but the commission repeatedly revised the project for funding, he continued.
The Planning Commission had even informed the state that no more funds for the construction of the project will be provided in case it is not completed by the said 2015 deadline, which has only prompted the state government to speed up the construction work without even obtaining the mandatory clearance from the Ministry of Forest and Environment, he claimed.
The state had first tried to obtain forest and environment clearance for the diversion of 595 hectares of Forest land for the dam in 2010, 30 years after the project was approved by the Planning Commission.
The 1st stage clearance for the diversion of 595 hectares of forest land was obtained only in the last week of August, this year, he said while adding that the clearance was preceded by the filing of a case by the MDAVO through the National Green Tribunal regarding the forest clearance violation on June 28, 2013.
R Sakathan continued saying that the state government had sought the second stage final clearance only on August 27, 2013 from the union ministry of environment and forest and at the same time set November this year for the filling up of the reservoir of the dam without receiving the clearance.
Construction of the Mapithel Dam started from 1990 but the ministry of environment and forest Manipur submitted forest clearance stage one the Union Ministry on January 11, 2010 without even a conducting a site visit of the project area, he said while condemning that it is a matter of serious concern that the state has failed to submit the compliance report of the Stage I Forest clearance and also to take the Stage II Final clearance and instead intended to submerge more than 592 hectare of forest land, homestead land and other agricultural land without obtaining the Forest clearance.
He further complained that the compliance report submitted by the state government to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for the Stage I forest clearance is full of contradictions and constitutes a clear violation of indigenous peoples rights.
R Sakathan further said that the construction of the Mapithel dam without the clearance of the environment and forest is total violation of the Forest Rights Act 2006.