Manipur plans to get thousands displaced by conflict back home. Here's the state's 3-phase plan

Indian Express

15 hours ago

Manipur Chief Secretary P K Singh on Friday announced that efforts are underway to resettle people displaced by the ongoing conflict in the state in three phases by the end of the year.
For over two years now, thousands of people from the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities have been living in relief camps since the start of the ongoing conflict in May 2023. According to the Manipur Home Department estimates, around 57,000 people are currently in over 280 relief camps across the valley and the hills.
Chief Secretary Singh on Friday said that the current plan is to shut these camps by the end of this year and that around 5,000 people have already returned to their homes.
'We have had a good number of discussions amongst ourselves and the Central government and Ministry of Home Affairs. We have come up with a three-phase plan. The first is for those who want to immediately go back, that is, by July. A good number will go back (in this phase), they have already started going back. The number (of people in relief camps) was 62,000 in the beginning; now it is around 57,000… The second round will be by October and the third by December,' he said, speaking to reporters after an event in Imphal.
A senior Home Department official explained that the people who have already returned to their homes and those who are expected to return in this first phase are mainly those living in 'fringe areas', or areas at the border of the Meitei-majority valley and Kuki-Zo majority hills, close to settlements of the other community, whose homes have not been damaged in the conflict and who evacuated their villages out of fear and apprehension of violence.
While making the announcement, the Chief Secretary said that the displaced people are broadly being considered in three categories for rehabilitation plans: the families whose houses have not been damaged; those whose homes have been damaged and will require repair; and those who will not be able to return even at the end of the year because of security concerns.
'There are about 7,000-8,000 houses that have been destroyed. In these cases, we are planning to give Rs 1.3 lakh plus 1.73 lakh so they have money to build their houses wherever they want. Second, there are around 7,000 cases where people have fled, but the houses have not been destroyed; rather, they are dilapidated after two years of neglect. So there will be some kind of monetary help for people to set up their houses. And third is that even after December, there will be around 8,000-10,000 who will not be able to go back immediately… They will be allowed to stay in pre-fabricated houses, which we are building 1,000 more of. But the plans are to shut the camps by December,' he said.
The Home Department official said that the last category of displaced people includes Kuki-Zos who had been displaced from Imphal and other towns in the valley, and Meiteis who had been displaced from the Indo-Myanmar border town of Moreh and towns such as Kangpokpi and Churachandpur. 'These are people who still cannot move back because of security reasons and will have to be housed in pre-fabricated houses. 3,000 such units had already been commissioned to house displaced people earlier, and more are being set up. It is likely that these people will only be able to move back when the situation is completely normalised,' said the official.
There have been months of relative peace in the foothill areas where the Meitei-majority valley meets Kuki-Zo majority hills, which had been among the worst-hit parts of Manipur in the ongoing conflict. The last major cycle of violence took place in November last year. Last month, a Meitei farmer was injured in gunfire at a foothill area in Bishnupur district, and a Kuki-Zo woman was killed when security forces launched operations in response, which prompted increased security measures in 'vulnerable farming areas.'