INDIA: Repeal the Manipur Loktak Lake Protection Act of 2006 and end forced evictions

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is providing an update on the situation of the local Indigenous people of Loktak Lake and the abuses perpetrated by the Loktak Development Authority in accord with the ineffective and outdated Manipur Loktak Lake Protection Act of 2006.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

Since 2010, The Loktak Development Authority (LDA) In Manipur State in Northeast India has forcibly removed and burnt down the homes of villagers on Luktak Lake floating phumdi masses. This community of people earns a livelihood by fishing and gathering aquatic vegetables on the lake, the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India. The Manipur Loktak Lake Protection Act of 2006 was implemented without the free, prior, and informed consent of the people whom are directly impacted by the Act. Conservators, developers, environmentalists, and other local professionals were not consulted before the implementation of the Act, despite that its’ original purpose was to protect, improve, and conserve the natural environment.

Section 20 of the Act provides that no person shall “build any hut or house on phumdis inside the lake” within a designated core area, where many villagers already live. The Act additionally prohibits athapum fishing. Thousands of people are directly dependent on the resources from the lake. The above clause violates the indigenous peoples’ rights to housing and a means of livelihood, and therefore hinders their right to life. In many cases, these people have been using or residing in the huts for generations, and have no other home or ancestral land. The Act furthers, in Section 21, that LDA authorities have the power of entry and inspection, allowing for the LDA officials to act with impunity. Finally, the Act makes no provisions for compensation, rehabilitation, or resettlement of displaced fishermen, and no employment alternatives.

The goals and methodologies of the Act are vague and were introduced without a thorough assessment of specific actions that could improve the biodiversity and environment of the area. The government has voiced the opinion that the hut-dwellers on Loktak Lake are responsible for the polluting of the water; however pollution from upstream is a more likely culprit. Another suspect is the Ithai Barrage Dam, part of the National Loktak Multipurpose Hydropower Project (1983), which was built at the confluence of the Manipur River, Khuga River, and the Ungamel channel. The barrage has hindered the traditional flow of the rivers and caused some of the water to become standstill, not allowing for pollutants to be flushed out downstream. Additionally, the Dam has decreased the number of fish migrating into the lake, affecting the livelihood of fishermen.

In order to address the displacement of floating hut dwellers and the destruction of their floating huts at Loktak Lake, The Gauhati High Court issued notices to the Chief Minister Mr. O Ibobi (Chairman of the LDA) the LDA Project Director, the Deputy Commissioner of Bishnupur district, and Bishnupur Superintendent of Police on 16 February 2013. The original order prohibited the clearance of the villagers phumdi-huts from Loktak Lake, a mandate the named people above directly defied. This is the third of such notices to have been received by these LDA personnel, the formers being received on February 1 and June 20 of last year.

Since the Asian Human Rights Commission issued its’ Urgent Appeal on 28 February 2013, regarding the eviction and threats towards the floating hut-dwellers of Loktak Lake in Manipur State, the state has yet to take action regarding the plight of displaced villagers and fishermen in the Loktak area. Inaction of the Court is unacceptable, especially regarding a case in which hundreds of people have been displaced from their homes without being extended recuperation or alternative living arrangements and thousands more stand to be impacted by this continued abuse of state power.

Having a history of relying on Loktak Lake for sustenance and a source of income, these displaced villagers now struggle to find alternative sources of food, income, housing, and employment. The villagers of Loktak Lake are guaranteed the right to a home and a livelihood under the Constitutional provision of right to life. The destruction of their huts was conducted absent of any order for the evictions, and the Manipur government has failed to provide the people with their constitutionally guaranteed reimbursement. The Manipur Loktak Lake Protection Act of 2006 should be reassessed and rewritten to protect the rights of the Loktak Lake Indigenous peoples and remove impunity for LDA officials. Because the lake is vital to the livelihood of the fishermen who live there and the surrounding communities, these people must be consulted before any action regarding the lake is taken by the government. The Act is too vague and should be reformed to include specific provisions of environmental protection that do not harm the lives of people already residing there.

The Gauhati High Court indicated in its contempt notice that legal action would be pursued against the defendants above in the event of continued destruction of huts on Loktak Lake. The AHRC was dismayed to hear that even after the third notice issued by the Gauhati High Court, the LDA continued to destroy fishermen’s on 28 February of this year. It is disgraceful that the LDA continued their actions in contempt of the court-sanctioned mandate.

The defiance of the Gauhati High Court Order of 25 January 2012 by the LDA personnel indicates failure of both the Government and the Court. The passivity of the Guahati High Court must end if they are to enforce future legislation and make a positive intervention on behalf of the environmental protection of Loktak Lake. The pretense of these perpetrators and the LDA to assume they are above the rule of law stems directly from the Guahati High Court’s lack of action on this matter. This case has proven that issuing contempt of court mandates is not a sufficient reaction to the LDA’s continued criminal activities.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Petition to the Government authorities of Manipur to request that they review the Manipur Loktak Lake Protection Act of 2006 and take steps to protect the rights of Indigenous people

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