"Substantial Issue": National Green Tribunal Takes Up Manipur "Forest Cover Loss"
NDTV
Manipur forest cover loss: The Bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, and expert member Dr A Senthil Vel impleaded themselves as respondents in the matter, after which the NGT sent notices to the MoEF and the FSI
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken note of a social media post by Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on forest cover loss in the state due to deforestation and illegal opium poppy cultivation.
In a post on X, Mr Singh had said Manipur had a forest cover of 17,475 sqkm in 1987, which decreased to 16,598 sqkm in 2021. He had said 877 sqkm of forest cover was destroyed, primarily to grow illegal opium poppy.
"Some mind-boggling data...evictions from the reserved and protected forests were carried out throughout the state. It was never targeted towards any particular community," the Chief Minister from the BJP, whose policies the Kuki-Zo tribes hold responsible for the outbreak of the ethnic crisis in the state, had said in the post which included an explainer video.
