Manipur: Most displaced people likely to be resettled by Dec as situation improves

Imphal, July 4 (IANS) With the improvement in the situation, the Manipur government has started resettlement of violence hit displaced people, Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh said on Friday.

The state government has established over 300 relief camps in Imphal Valley and hilly regions to provide shelter to over 57,000 men, women and children, who were displaced after the ethnic violence broke out in the state over two years ago.

The Chief Secretary said that the resettlement of displaced people would be done in three phases -- July, October and December and the process targeted to be completed by December this year.

“Most displaced people would be resettled in their original villages. Even after December (2025), 9,000–10,000 displaced people may not be able to return to their original villages, especially those displaced from some areas including Tengnoupal, Churachandpur, and Kangpokpi districts. These 9,000–10,000 people would be provided accommodation in prefabricated houses. A large number of prefabricated houses were already constructed in different districts and an additional 1,000 such houses are being constructed for this purpose," Singh told the media on the sidelines of an event in Imphal.

He said that the resettlement process has been initiated after a series of meetings with the various Union Government ministries including the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Of the three phases resettlement process, the first phase has already begun and it is expected to be completed by this month (July), Singh said, adding that the second phase of resettlement is scheduled for October, followed by the third and final round by December.

According to the Chief Secretary, the number of displaced people has come down from around 62,000 to 57,000.

He said that financial assistance of Rs 3.03 lakh per family would be provided to those families whose homes have been destroyed and a lump sum amount would be provided to those families whose homes were not damaged but have partially damaged after two years of abandonment.

Singh said that the state government has taken a series of initiatives to restore free movement in different parts of the state.

“The central and state governments, various civil society organisations and community leaders are all working collectively to restore the free movement," he said, indicating some positive developments in this regard on the ground.

The Chief Secretary said that farmers of different communities are conducting their farming activities without any major problems. He said that some major infrastructure projects -- Manipur Police Headquarters, an Information Technology Park and new Manipur Bhavans in Dwarka (Delhi) and Kolkata— are in the pipeline and these would be functional in due course of time.

--IANS

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