Public Statement Mapithel Dam The Mapithel Dam, a component of Thoubal Multipurpose Project in Manipur was approved by the Planning Commission in 1980 without the knowledge of the people in 1980. This project will submerge 1215 hectares of land (595 ha forest cover) in Senapati and Ukhrul district, if commissioned. This number is as per the government’s position but a large part of the area to be affected by the dam is not yet surveyed. The surveys conducted by non-governmental and community organizations put the figure at 3,568.77 hectares. The dam will span 1074 meters with a height of 66 meters. More than 8000 tribals (and non-tribals) in 22 villages would be affected by the dam. On the upstream Chadong, Lamlai Mongbung, Louphung, Phayang, Ramrei Khullen, Ramrei Khunou, Riha, Thawai (Thoyee), Shangkai, Sharkaphung (Sikibung), Zalengbung would be affected; while on the downstream, Bethelphai, Itham, Island, Leishiphung, Maphou, Moirangpurel, Nongdam Kuki, Nongdam Tangkhul, Rishophung, Shiloijang, Thangchingpokpi, Tumukhong would be affected. Of the 22 villages that are affected, homesteads and agricultural lands of 6 villages (Chadong, Louphung, Phayang, Ramrei Khullen, Ramrei Khunou) will be completely submerged while the remaining villages will suffer partial submergence of either their agricultural lands or homesteads. Another 27 villages are within the catchment area of the dam which is 565 sq. km in size; the community’s access to their wet paddy fields and usage rights of forest and other natural resources in the catchment area would be restricted. Aside from the serious threat to their livelihood and survival, the construction of the dam has given rise to numerous incidents of human rights violations of peoples in the area, including illegal detention, torture, forced displacement etc. The construction has been accompanied by massive militarization and systematic abuse of fundamental freedoms of the people in the area such as the right to free expression, the right over traditional lands, territories and resources, the right to free, prior, informed consent, etc. The project, 35 years after it began, is still far from a legal resolution. The project violates the rights of the tribal communities over their ancestral land and forest and also violates the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006. As you are aware, for any development project, the Forest (Conservation) Act and the FRA mandates forest clearance for settling rights of the community over forestland. The Environment Protection Act in 1986 also seeks mandatory environmental clearances for such project. The rights under FRA also relates to community forest resources and not just the land on which tribals are living. Under the Act, certain procedures are to be followed before granting permission for the use of forestland for non forest purposes. However, the construction of the dam began in 1989, but without obtaining the required forest clearance. The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) issued a letter to the chief secretary of Manipur in 2006, enquiring about forest clearance to the project. It was only in 2010 that the first stage clearance for the project was granted by the MoEF. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) considering the complaints from the affected tribal communities that the Project has violated Forest Rights under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and the Forest Rights Act, 2006 halted the project seeking necessary forest clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on 20 November, 2013. NGT ordered the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs to submit its comments within a week and the MoEF to thereafter pass appropriate orders regarding the clearance in a period of six weeks. The MoEF accorded the final Stage II Forest Clearance for Mapithel Dam on 31December 2013 without conducting any visits to assess the site and affected areas. The Irrigation and Flood Control Department of the state government of Manipur has started blocking the Thoubal River and filing up the Mapithel Dam Reservoir since January 2015 without completing mandatory impact assessment and obtaining clearances from respective authorities. Large scale of security forces is also being deployed in order to subdue resistance and democratic protests of the affected peoples that has been ongoing. The ongoing move to complete the Mapithel Dam construction also entails a controversial and manipulative rehabilitation and resettlement (RR) process that has been coerced on the people causing confusion and division amongst the affected people,. The government of Manipur has acknowledged the failure of the agreement on Rand R in 1993 and constituted an Expert Review Committee (ERC) on 18 January 2008. However, the government withdrew from the ERC process after seven rounds of talks in February 2011. Following that the government of Manipur began verification at Lamlai Khunou and Chadong Villages from 29 October 2012, forcibly and arbitrarily, using security forces to silence objections. The verification based on Ukhrul District DC’s order, dated 28 September 2012 and 26 March 2013, is a direct violation of the stay order of the Gauhati High Court on 25 April 2012. The legal recourse they have sought is taking time and is taken a toll on their daily lives. We seek your support in saving land and lives of the people who have been resisting and protesting the dam and urge you to raise your voice to decommission the Mapithel Dam. Issued by: Tangkhul Shanao Long (TSL) and Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong (TKS) Dated: Ukhrul, July 10, 2015