MIYC opposes eviction of Lei-Ingkhol residents, calls it assault on human rights

The Manipur International Youth Centre (MIYC) has strongly opposed the ongoing eviction drive at Lei-Ingkhol, Imphal East, alleging that the move to expand the High Court Complex amounted to an assault on human rights, justice, and the survival of indigenous communities.
In a statement issued on Friday, MIYC said Lei-Ingkhol was not an encroachment but a settlement established in the 1940s by people once ostracised due to leprosy and tuberculosis, which has since grown into a community of 156 households with schools, sacred groves, ponds, playgrounds, and cultural sites. It maintained that branding the residents as illegal settlers was misleading and unjust.
The organisation alleged that the original requirement for the High Court Complex was 20 acres, with environmental clearance granted only for 12.40 acres in 2007, but the allotment was later expanded to more than 49 acres in 2010 without consent or transparency. It claimed that fraudulent surveys, sham rehabilitation schemes, inadequate compensation, and intimidation tactics had been used to dispossess villagers.
MIYC further argued that the displacement of Lei-Ingkhol violated multiple legal and constitutional safeguards, including the Environmental Impact Assessment, the Land Acquisition and Resettlement Act, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and fundamental rights under the Indian Constitution.
The youth organisation demanded that the government respect the status quo by halting evictions and retroceding the additional 21 acres allotted in 2010. It also urged the authorities to recognise the villagers’ legal entitlements, institute an independent inquiry into the alleged land scam, ensure transparent dialogue with affected families, and hold officials accountable.
MIYC appealed to the Governor of Manipur, the judiciary, and civil society to intervene urgently, stating that the eviction represented not development but destruction.