In a crackdown on illegal extraction and transportation of forest produce, joint teams of the Tengnoupal Forest Division, Thoubal Forest Division and Heirok Police Station seized two vehicles transporting stone boulders without valid permits in Manipur.
The seizure was made at around 12.30 pm on Thursday at the Wabaching–Heirok stretch after the teams acted on specific and reliable information, coupled with an earlier offence report filed in connection with illegal transportation of stone boulders from the Wabaching area. The vehicles were intercepted while returning towards Heirok after loading the materials.
The seized vehicles, bearing registration numbers MN04C-0084 and MN04P-0915, were found carrying approximately twenty cubic metres of stone boulders. Officials confirmed that the materials were being transported without mandatory transit permits, constituting a clear violation of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, as amended, the Indian Forest (Manipur Amendment) Act, 2018, and the Manipur Forest Rules, 2021.
Forest officials also cited the Manipur High Court’s order dated July nine, two thousand nineteen, passed in Public Interest Litigation No five of two thousand nineteen, which strictly restricts the extraction and transportation of minor minerals and forest produce without proper authorisation.
Divisional Forest Officer Mahamuda Begum stated that the seized vehicles and forest produce would be dealt with strictly under the relevant Acts and Rules. She added that further legal proceedings would be initiated by the Office of the Authorised Officer of the Tengnoupal Forest Division in accordance with established procedures.