MC Konyak slams Congress slur; threatens defamation suit
Dimapur, July 10 (MExN): Minister for Forest, Environment, Ecology & Wildlife, MC Konyak has come out publicly to defend his position by stating that the Hotahoti reserved forest land belongs to the Government and will continue to do so. “Thus, the question of me encroaching it does not arise. I hereby clarify that I have never been a land grabber or an encroacher, and I have no intention to be one”, stated a press note from the minister following allegation of the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) Media Cell chairman and member R. Paphino and Dr. K. Hoshi accusing the minister of land grabbing and demanding his resignation. The minister has asked Paphino and Dr. Hoshi to tender unqualified public apology to him within one week with effect from publication of this statement, failing which the minister will have no option but to file a defamatory case.
Meanwhile, making his stand as also that of the Forest department, MC Konyak clarified that the bamboo plantation project at Hotahoti in Mon district was a venture involving the community and should be appreciated rather than hurling “bitter ignorant criticisms”. Hitting out at the allegations leveled against him by the NPCC, the minister ridiculed that if the Congress members had any concern about Hotahoti reserved forest, they should “get their facts straight”. Konyak informed that the forest was full of bamboo at the time of purchase and it was earmarked with the intention to supply raw material to Tuli Paper Mill. But the paper mill was closed down after ten years, in 1988. Subsequently, the land was rendered barren because of bamboo flowering.
Meanwhile, in the northern part, the people of Assam frequently encroached as the land was lying unattended to by anybody.
With the formation of the DAN ministry, the need of reviving the paper mill was recognized and no effort was spared to see the mill flourish in due course of time, stated the Minister while informing that the government was presently at work in full swing with the intention to plant bamboo in large scale to meet the requirements of supplying 3.5 metric tonnes of bamboo annually to the paper mill. Accordingly, the Forest Department has been taking up bamboo plantation in collaboration with the local communities in all the lands purchased for the paper mill.
It was further informed that since 2007, bamboo plantation works were started. The bamboo plantation at Hotahoti in Mon district was started in April 2009. The plantation was done by the Forest Department in collaboration with the local communities in a “particular pattern of growing agriculture crops along with the main forest plantation in order to control the growth of weed and to facilitate the growth of bamboo plants simultaneously”. In coordination with the Nagaland Bamboo Mission headed by the top bureaucrats of the state, all interested local farmers, irrespective of political affiliations, were invited to avail the opportunity through an MoU which is under process, the Minister stated while adding that since the initiation of this MoU, the local farmers themselves have invested a lot for jungle clearance and in the purchase of seedling with the view to help meet the Government commitment to supply the required quantity of bamboo.
