Manipur reports bamboo plantations on 255 hectares cleared of poppy

Manipur’s Forest Department has established bamboo plantations on 255 hectares previously cleared for poppy cultivation, forest chief Anurag Bajpai said in an October 9 briefing on efforts to restore degraded land.

Bajpai said officials had identified 307 hectares of forestland under poppy cultivation in Chandel, Churachandpur and Senapati districts. Surveys to identify additional affected areas continue, building on monitoring that began in 2018.

The department is working with village chiefs to discourage illegal cultivation and offer other livelihood options. Bajpai said bamboo could support both environmental restoration and local incomes. Officials are also examining plant species that might compete with rapidly spreading poppy.

The forest chief distinguished between land classified as forest and actual forest cover. He said about 78% of Manipur’s geographical area is classified as forestland, while forest cover accounts for about 74%. These measures describe different aspects of the state’s land use.

Bajpai also said the department was coordinating with security forces and intelligence agencies to curb smuggling along the India–Myanmar border, identifying areca nuts and Burmese teak among the products involved. He reported ₹115 crore in revenue from seized forest products across the 2023–24 to 2025–26 financial years. That figure covers several years rather than a single recent seizure.