Guwahati: The Manipur government on Sunday carried out an eviction drive at Waithou Protected Reserved Forest in Thoubal district to remove alleged encroachers from the forest lands.
A total of 69 houses constructed within Reserved Forest were dismantled during the eviction drive.
The eviction drive came days after Chief Minister N Biren Singh convened a joint meeting with officials of the forest and revenue departments.
“The state government has initiated a drive to take action against all the encroachments in different parts of the state,” Chief Minister Biren Singh tweeted.
According to the Thoubal Forest division, the eviction was conducted after “encroachers” failed to give proper justification as to why they should not be evicted from the forest land.
A large number of security personnel were deployed in the area to prevent any untoward situation during the eviction drive.
As per the eviction notice, dag chithas/jamabandi issued in Waithou Protected Forest were in violation of the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, Manipur Forest Rule, 2021 and Forest Conservation Act, 1980.