When ethnic conflicts broke out in Manipur in 2023, the central government led by Modi provided special assistance of more than 2.47 billion rupees to the Manipur government. , thousands of people are homeless.
A report by the Union Home Ministry highlighted that to run relief camps for people displaced by violence in Manipur, the Center sanctioned Rs 101.75 crore on June 2, 2023, of which Rs 83.58 crore has been released to the state .
Additionally, to implement the Supplementary Nutrition and Hygiene Program to support people in relief camps, a special package of Rs 8,922 crore was approved on October 19, 2023, of which Rs 4,460 crore has been released to the state.
Further, the Central Government on July 27, 2023 approved a special package of `119.08 crore in five components for providing relief and rehabilitation to victims or persons affected by the ongoing law and order crisis in the state Rupees have been released to Manipur.
The 2023-24 report also reported that India has a 1,643-km-long border with Myanmar, passing through Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km) and Mizoram (510 km). Of the 1,643 kilometers of borders, 1,472 kilometers have been demarcated. Assam Rifles has been awarded work for construction of two hybrid surveillance system pilot projects of one kilometer each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur by Assam Rifles and work is in progress.
“Construction work of 9.214 kilometers of border fence in Moreh, Manipur awarded to BRO has been completed and construction of roads along the fence is in progress,” the report states.
According to reports, BRO was awarded the contract to construct 20.862 kilometers of fencing and roads in February 2024, and the work is currently underway.
The Ministry of Home Affairs reported that to provide connectivity to remote areas in the North Eastern Region (NER), the helicopter subsidy scheme is being implemented by Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Mizo Central Administration of Ram and Manipur.
While in Manipur, the state has sanctioned one additional helicopter in February 2024, subject to the local law and order situation, with flying hours capped at 430 hours per year.
The report highlights that in 2023, violence increased in Manipur due to widespread ethnic conflicts between the Meitei and Kuki communities in the state, resulting in higher casualties among civilians and security forces compared to 2022.
In 2023, Manipur accounted for approximately 77% of the total violent incidents in the Northeast region (Manipur: 187 incidents, Northeast as a whole: 243 incidents). Counter-insurgency operations resulted in the killing of 33 insurgents, the arrest of 184 insurgents, and the seizure of 49 weapons. In addition, 80 rebel cadres surrendered carrying 31 weapons.
On May 3, 2023, large-scale ethnic violence broke out in the Meitei and Kuki communities of Manipur, causing many casualties and arson.
“Although the issue of violence mainly relates to the maintenance of public order, which is a subject in the list of states in the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution, the central government has been providing support as requested by the state governments,” the report stated.
The central government took a series of immediate and ongoing actions to address the situation. Immediate action was taken to engage senior Manipur officials to gradually deploy more CAPF companies and Army/Assam Rifles columns, deploy helicopters and drones and implement a unified chain of command, the report said.
Efforts were made to evacuate students and residents to safer locations and to provide alternative classes for affected students, the statement said.
The report highlighted the various steps taken by Manipur and added that necessary and concerted efforts are being taken to restore peace and normalcy.