IMPHAL, October 23: Has the recent signing of the Peace Accord with the Centre given the NSCN (IM) licence to openly extort in broad daylight in the State, Manipur People’s Party president Nongmeikapam Sovakiran deplored following a four day long inspection tour of MPP delegates to Jiribam.
He was speaking to media persons today after returning from a four day inspection of the Imphal-Jiribam Highway condition and functioning of the government administration in Jiribam.
NSCN (IM) cadres had collected Rs 500 from the vehicle they were travelling in in broad daylight from an area in between Noney and Khongsang in Tamenglong district, Sovakiran said.
The militant cadres had collected an illegal tax of Rs 500 from each vehicle as a weekly tax, he said.
This is evidence of illegal tax collection by cadres of the NSCN (IM) who had signed the peace accord with the Centre, he said.
Has the Centre issued licence to the militant outfit to collect illegal tax along the NH 37 after the signing of the Peace Accord, he demanded.
He further demanded the concerned government authorities to take strong action against the illegal tax collection.
He also observed that the government has failed to protect the two lifelines of the State from the threats of bandhs and blockades.
This is not the time for the government to appeal or request against such threats as it is the people who suffer the most due to the prolonged bandhs and blockades on the highways, he said.
The government should forcefully crack down on such agitations imposed on the highways, he said.
And if in case the government is unable to control such agitations, it should implement a scheme so as to stabilise prices of essential commodities or provide essential items on half prices for the public during such agitations, he said.
Sovakiran said it seems the vast manpower of the Home department is only for Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam to use for decorations and not to be used for controlling bandhs and economic blockade on the lifelines.
Meanwhile, on government administration in Jiribam, he said the administration in Jiribam is totally defunct.
He said most of the government departments are not functioning, in fact even the additional DC was found to be absent from his station during the MPP inspection tour.
Above the failure of the departments to function, the infrastructure in the sub-division is also in the worse condition, he added.
Elaborating further he said the check post at the Jiribam Gate for immigrants was found to be very tight, however, the State boundary along the Jiri River was all porous.
The market structure in the sub-division has not changed for the past 15 years as compared to Jirighat, the neighbouring town in Assam where it is far developed, he added.
It is unfortunate to find that no developmental schemes or projects sanctioned by the Centre or the State governments have reach Jiribam, said MPP legal advisor Y Priyokumar.
The main factor for the projects and schemes not reaching the intended beneficiaries is because most of the officials are functioning from Imphal, he said.
The team, he said had also observed that the Forest department has neglected the sub-division.
He elaborated, it is learnt that on a daily basis around 200/300 bamboos cut down from Manipur side are taken across the Jiri River to supply to paper mills in Assam.
He said the bamboos are left on the river current and picked up from the Jirighat side.
The Forest department should control such practice, and the Revenue department should also collect tax from such business, he said.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/10/is-the-peace-accord-a-license-for-nscn-im-to-extort-openly-in-manipur-mpp/