Y Merina Chishi
Encroachment or theft of government land is a big problem in Nagaland. Every year, the government loses a significant area of land that is encroached upon or outrightly occupied in the case of forest lands. The problem exists in the spectrum.
Within the forest cover area, the government has lost thousands of acres to illegal occupation. Countless number of villages has been reportedly established on government forest land and many more continue to crop up. Several land encroachment cases are lying in courts and will gather dust if the government doesn't act soon.
Of the State's geographical area of 16,579 sq km, forests occupy an approximate 8,629 sq km i.e. 52.04 percent, as per government record. Of this, the State government on 264.28 sq km covering reserved forests and wildlife sanctuaries; 34.69 sq km in protected forests and 192.47 sq km in purchased forests, making it a mere 11 percent for the total forest cover.
Nagaland's two biggest forest reserves are already threatened by rampant encroachment. Intangki and Rangapahar forest reserves, which make up a significant portion of the total forest cover that the State owns, has been reduced significantly in size in the last two to three decades alone. The government has taken several steps to stop encroachment in these two reserves but there is much more that needs to be done. There have been several confrontations between the forest department and the encroachers but the outcome has never been positively lasting. Instead, many government officials on duty have been threatened and abused for trying to stop encroachment.
The situation is no better in the cadastral areas. Government quarters are conveniently converted into private residences, boundary pillars are shifted and land pattas gradually acquired to claim ownership of government lands. These are glaring problems that have been existing for years yet most of the time they go undetected or ignored. This creates room for more encroachment to take place.
The protection of government land depends largely on the efficacy of the government and the willingness of law enforcement agencies. Most of the time, the perpetrators go unpunished or the cased simply drag on for years. Many department officials are also known to show lackadaisical attitude thereby creating several loopholes in the system. Action should be taken against such officials who encourage encroachment to take place.
The government needs more stringent laws as well as proper implementation of the laws to tackle the issue of land encroachment in the State. Timely land survey, setting up permanent boundary markers and enforcement can protect it from illegal occupations. Since open and forest areas are more prone to encroachment, maintaining and updating GPS data coordinates and use of new-age technologies like drones could help the government keep watch over any illegal occupation.
The government also must be more vigil and farsighted to tackle the problem. Since the government is acquiring land for development purposes across the State, it should formulate policies keeping that in mind. Also, as the human population grows, more and more land, particularly forest land will face encroachment and so the response from the government must be quick, and firm in its actions to keep secure its land.
