NGT Halts ‘Forest Ring Road’ in Manipur
Tribunal orders stop to unauthorised road cutting through six districts
GG News Bureau
Imphal, 29th Dec: The National Green Tribunal has ordered an immediate halt to construction of an alleged unauthorised ‘ring road’ cutting through forest and hill areas in six districts of Manipur, after finding that the project has no formal approval or environmental clearance.
In an order dated December 23, the NGT’s eastern zone bench in Kolkata directed the Manipur Chief Secretary to ensure that no further construction takes place and instructed district magistrates and police chiefs of the affected districts to strictly enforce compliance.
The matter came to light following a petition filed by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of civil society organisations of the Meitei community. The group alleged that the road, which passes through forested and hilly areas in districts including Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Noney and Ukhrul, was being built without any environmental or geological safety assessment.
COCOMI told the tribunal that information obtained from the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, the Rural Engineering Department and the Forest Department confirmed that no official approval, no-objection certificate or forest clearance had been issued for the project. The tribunal noted that satellite imagery also corroborated the existence of unauthorised construction activity in ecologically sensitive zones.
The road has locally been referred to as ‘German Road’ and, at some stretches, ‘Tiger Road’ — names linked to Kuki insurgent aliases — raising additional security concerns. COCOMI has alleged that the route may have been used as a clandestine corridor during the recent Manipur crisis, possibly facilitating illegal trafficking, movement of arms and unauthorised migration.
The NGT has given the Manipur government additional time to submit a consolidated report after some district-level information was found to require re-verification. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for February 2, 2026.
Earlier, following protests by tribal organisations, the Manipur government had clarified that it had not approved or sanctioned any such road and warned that legal action would be taken after verification of any illegal construction or naming on the ground.
The areas through which the road allegedly passes are located close to designated camps of insurgent groups under suspension of operations agreements, further heightening sensitivity around the project.
