Mizoram: Kolasib land owners call off blockade of NH-306

Aizawl: The landowners of Kolasib district in Mizoram on Wednesday called off their agitation nine hours after imposing a blockade on the National Highway-306 following assurance from the state government to take steps in addressing their plight.

A leader of the Kolasib District Land Owners’ Association (KDLOA) said they decided to call off the blockade after the district’s Deputy Commissioner assured them of urging the state government to address their demands.

He also said they agreed to call off their agitation after being told that the state government has been taking steps towards the Supreme Court’s directive to revoke the Roadside Reserve Forest (RRF) notification of 1965. 

Over 2,000 landowners along the National Highway-6 and National Highway-306 between Vairengte and Mualkhang in Kolasib district had for called an indefinite blockade on NH-306 demanding the state government to resolve the land ownership issues and withdraw the freezing order on their lands, which they claimed are privately owned. 

The landowners began their agitation by blocking the NH-306 at the Sethawn area of the district at 6 am on Wednesday.

However, the state’s connectivity with the rest of the country remained unaffected as vehicles continued to ply on the national highway during the agitation, a senior police officer said. 

He said the state government deployed a large number of police personnel at the protesting site to ensure traffic movement remains unaffected. 

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The police official also said that some local people sustained minor injuries during scuffle with the police.

The KDLOA alleged that their long-held lands along the NH-306 and NH-6 between Vairengte and Mualkhang in Kolasib district had been frozen by the state forest department by designating them RRF since 2020. 

The Centre has already approved the four-laning project of NH-306 along with NH-6 in Aizawl district a few years ago and the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has been entrusted to execute the project. 

NHIDCL officials said the project, however, could not be started as yet owing to a dispute between the state forest and revenue departments.

The KDLOA alleged that when the Centre announced the four-lane project, the state forest department declared  800-metres of land on either side of the national highways as RRF based on a 1965 notification thus freezing the lands that were privately owned.

The association urged the state government to repeal the RRF notification of 1965 and expedite the widening of NH-306 and NH-6. 

The Supreme Court has recently directed the Gauhati High Court to take a decision on the appeal to repeal the RRF notification within three months. 

The apex court also suggested that the Mizoram Chief Secretary convene a meeting with the secretaries of the state forest and revenue departments to resolve the dispute within the departments.