INDIA: Indigenous communities of Singda New Bazar, Manipur, facing forced eviction for Singda Dam Area Expansion

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the forced eviction of indigenous communities of Singda New Bazar, Manipur by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Government of Manipur, for expansion of the Singda Dam area. This affects 220 members of around 60 households belonging to Vaiphei, Kharam, Ireng Naga, and Meitei communities of Singda New Bazar, Senapati and Imphal West District, Manipur in India. An official land acquisition order was issued on 28 May 2013 by the Revenue Department, Government of Manipur.

The residents of the Singda Dam Bazar have expressed their willingness to co-operate with the Government of Manipur on the eviction of houses and farmlands within the boundary of the dam, but are appealing against the land acquisition, which will extend the adverse effect of the proposed plans to develop the area further.

This land acquisition will displace indigenous communities which have been residing in the Singda Dam Bazar for four decades. Along with its proposition for land acquisition, the Government of Manipur has also expressed its intentions to construct fences around the entire catchment area. This move will have the added consequence of restricting access of these indigenous communities to their forest, which prevents them from reaching their prime sources of food, seasonal vegetables and medicines, creating a potentially debilitating effect on the livelihood of these communities and their local economy. Having a fence will also create greater inconveniences since the Kharam and Vaiphei communities are forced to take a circuitous route to their respective villages along the catchment area of Singda dam. This is in direct violation of the rights that these villagers enjoy under the UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Their fundamental right to life and right to adequate housing are not respected in this move by the Government of Manipur, creating an acute situation which should be immediately remedied.

The Singda Dam located about 20km northwest of Imphal was inaugurated in 1995 but has stopped working since 2010 after the spillways broke down. Even though the Singda Dam has failed to meet its intended targets, threatening the food production and undermining food security of the residents of Imphal, the Government of Manipur has not rectified the situation. The affected villagers are skeptical about the reasons behind the Government’s proposal for developing the catchment area further. Instead, they are concerned that this project will provide an additional avenue for government officials to extract more money from central allocation, fueling the already rampant corruption in the government. The absence of reliable institutions and policies has disadvantaged indigenous communities, subjecting them to forced eviction without just rehabilitation and resettlement.

This case and previous cases of forced eviction in Manipur show how careless the Government of Manipur is in its responsibility of ensuring protection of the fundamental rights of its people. This case highlights how a development project such as dam construction can in fact set a community back, instead of enabling them with better infrastructural set-up, if the project is not well thought out with a legitimate agenda and comprehensive safeguards against adverse effects it may create.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Chief Minister of Manipur Mr. Okram Ibobi Singh made an inspection visit to the Imphal Barrage and Singda Dam on 18 April 2013. On his visit, he also addressed a meeting at the Irrigation Rest House at Singda and announced that encroachments in the Singda Dam area would be evicted in the first week of May. The Irrigation and Flood Control Department reported that ten houses, five shops in Singda village, and one church and two shops in Ireng Hill Slope are being built by encroaching the dam area.

On 25 April 2013, the Singda Bazar Board Development Committee (SBBDC) appealed to the State Government to limit the reconstruction and renovation of Singda dam within the boundary of the dam, and at the same time pledged its co-operation for the eviction of the houses built inside the boundary of the dam. The affected communities have held a series of meetings with the purpose of finding a resolution and has urged the Government of Manipur to consult the affected communities as well as those living upstream of the dam on the issue, to come up with the best course of action for managing the catchment area and the environment. However, this has been to no avail, as the Government has not responded to any of the memorandums that the affected communities submitted, apart from the final verdict they later received with the eviction order issued 28 May 2013.

A public meeting held at Singda Bazar observed that villagers of the area would stand against acquisition of SBBDC areas outside the boundary of the dam. SBBDC Chairperson, Mr. L. Mohendra also questioned if there was a hidden agenda behind this recent move of the Government.

The Government of Manipur issued an official land acquisition order (Notification no. 4/8/LA/2013-com (Rev)) through the Revenue Department on 28 May 2013 for eleven households in Kadangpal Village in the Imphal West District. The order cited Section 4(I) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and alleged that the area of land was likely to be needed for public purpose i.e. beautification/development of the Singda Multipurpose Project. The Government of Manipur has classified residents of Singda New Bazar as encroachers in the Singda Dam area.

According to the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, the plan is to plant 2 lakh (0.2 million) trees in the area. However, the intended area for eviction is in the downstream portion of Singda Dam, about a kilometer away, which the Singda New Bazar Development Committee has concluded as not an encroachment on the dam area. Moreover, the downstream portion of the Singda Dam does not suit the purpose of planting trees or development as a catchment area.

The Government of Manipur has also expressed its plans to fence the entire catchment area along with the proposed area for land acquisition. This displaces the indigenous communities, violating their right to adequate housing, and violates their right to life by restricting their access to the forest where their prime food source is. This arrangement will also force the Kharam and Vaiphei communities to take a circuitous route around the fenced area to reach their respective villages along the catchment area of the Singda dam, which is of a great inconvenience to their daily living.

Prior to the recent series of events, the communities of Kadangband had already lost approximately 15 acres of their agriculture land to the initial construction of the Singda Dam. Not only has the dam failed to provide adequate water to the residents of Imphal since the gates broke down in 2010, it has also threatened their production and undermined food security. There are also allegations of unchecked deforestation in the catchment area. Remedies against the deforestation are allegedly laden with uncontrolled corruption.

The Government of Manipur has been urged by the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing Rights to engage in proper consultation and obtain consent of all affected peoples and communities before effecting eviction. This recommendation was passed in the Special Rapporteur’s intervention on the forced eviction of residents of Lamphelpat Wetlands in June 2011. However, as seen with the recent land acquisition order issued 28 May and the events leading up to it, forced eviction has not ceased in Manipur.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities mentioned below demanding a judicial inquiry in this case. The AHRC is writing separately to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing asking for their intervention in the case.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER