Mizoram Fights Poverty With New Land Policy

Aizawl, Jan 16 : Ten years down the line, Mizoram wants to wipe out poverty for ever, with Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla unveiling a Rs 2,873-crore ambitious New Land Use Policy (NLUP) here on Friday. Intending to wean out farmers from jhum cultivation, the state also wants to put a full stop to deforestation.

“The New Land Use Policy not only intends to provide sustainable income-generating alternatives to the tribal farmers currently engaged in jhum or slash-and-burn cultivation, but will also integrate all poverty-alleviation programmes including MGNREGS under one umbrella,” said Thanhawla.

Fully funded by the Centre, NLUP schemes would cover 1.20 lakh tribal families, with the CM saying poverty would soon become a thing of the past in the hill state.

“We are going to eradicate poverty from Mizoram in less than 10 years from now,” he said. About 40 per cent of Mizoram’s population is currently considered BPL.

“While the overall growth of the state’s economy will jump to 16 per cent, the per capita income will go up from the existing Rs 32,634 to Rs 51,846 by 2020,” said Lal Thanhawla, whose party, the Congress, had used NLUP as the main poll plank.

The NLUP also envisages keeping 10 per cent land for community-reserved forests and 10 per cent land for firewood cultivation for community needs.

“The policy aims at multi-cropping as well as intensive rearing of cattle, pigs and mithuns. It envisages integrating agriculture, horticulture, sericulture, fishery, animal husbandry and forestry in the long run,” the Chief Minister said.