8 Manipur districts top SDG 16 chart on peace, justice
The Manipur districts of Kamjong, Noney, and Pherzawl top the NER District SDG Index 2023-24 report, with scores of 97, 96, and 93, respectively. Other Manipur districts among the top performers include Kangpokpi (90), Tengnoupal (86), Churachandpur (84), Ukhrul (84), and Tamenglong (83). All eight districts are categorised as front runners, with scores ranging between 65 and 99.
To be sure, data on key crime-related indicators such as murders and crimes against children were sourced from the National Crime Records Bureau's 2022 report, the last that has been released. Manipur has been roiled by ethnic violence since May 2023 that first began in Churachandpur district.
According to the think tank's classification, there are 131 districts across eight northeastern states. However, 121 districts were taken into consideration. All 16 districts of Manipur were included in the assessment.
In the report, the judicial strength indicator —measuring the ratio of working to sanctioned judges in district and subordinate courts — was based on state government data as of March 31, 2024. Data on Common Service Centres (CSCs) was state-reported and reflected the situation as on March 31, 2024. Civil registration metrics such as birth and death registration percentages were drawn from the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21), while Aadhaar coverage data came from the UIDAI Dashboard, accessed in July 2024.
The last time this report was released was in August 2021.
Overall, Mizoram, Tripura, and Nagaland scores were the top performing on SDGs. Assam (74.29) showed a performance level similar to Manipur (74.29), while Meghalaya (73) was at the bottom.
Manipur has been roiled by sweeping ethnic violence since May 2023 in a widespread conflict that has claimed at least 260 lives and displaced another 50,000 people.
The NER District SDG Index 2023-24 assessed districts on eight core targets under SDGs, including reduction in violence, child protection, judicial capacity, digital governance, and legal identity. Targets were benchmarked using either global goals or the average performance of the top five districts.
The SDGs, adopted by the UN in 2015, are a set of 17 global goals designed to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030. Each goal addresses key challenges such as hunger, health, education, gender equality, clean energy, and climate action.
In the report, no northeastern district got a perfect 100 — or achiever — score.
The reported murder rate per 10,000 population remained low across the state. Imphal West recorded the lowest figure at 0.10, while Churachandpur reported the highest at 0.39. Several districts — including Tamenglong, Kamjong, and Pherzawl — reported zero murders. The data is from 2022.
On the judicial infrastructure front, most districts — including Chandel, Churachandpur, Jiribam, Kakching, Kamjong, Kangpokpi, Noney, Pherzawl, Tamenglong, Tengnoupal, Thoubal, and Ukhrul — reported a 1.00 ratio of working to sanctioned strength of judges in district and subordinate courts. Only Senapati (0.67) and Imphal East (0.63) reported slightly lower ratios. To be sure, HT has reported on how courts have found it difficult to function amid ethnic tensions.
The number of Common Service Centres (CSCs) providing online services per 10,000 population exceeded the national benchmark (11.88) in districts such as Thoubal (11.98), Noney (11.99), and Kamjong (10.36). Other districts with relatively high CSC density include Churachandpur (13.53) and Ukhrul (12.45). Data for CSC coverage was unavailable for Jiribam, Kakching, Kangpokpi, Noney, Pherzawl, and Tengnoupal.
Birth registration percentages were highest in Chandel (91.4%), Thoubal (87.2%), and Ukhrul (87.3%), but dropped to 83.6% in Bishnupur and 86.1% in Imphal East. Death registration figures varied widely. Bishnupur (24.4%), Imphal East (32.8%), and Thoubal (40.4%) were among the lowest. The highest death registration was in Tengnoupal (86%), followed by Ukhrul (84%), Tamenglong (83%), and Churachandpur (52.5%).
Aadhaar enrolment exceeded 100% in Imphal East (114), Thoubal (112), and Bishnupur (112). Several other districts, including Ukhrul (86) and Chandel (78), also showed high coverage.
However, the report noted missing data for key identity and registration indicators in many Manipur districts. Aadhaar coverage, birth and death registration — measured under SDG target 16.9 — were marked 'null' for several top-ranking districts. Despite this, the combination of zero reported crime and full judicial staffing contributed to high composite scores.
Besides SDG 16, Pherzawl in Manipur is the only district across the Northeast to be categorised as an Aspirant under SDG 5 — Gender Equality — with a score below 50, making it the worst-performing district among the 121 assessed. Eight others, including districts like Imphal West (63), Kangpokpi (63), Bishnupur (59), North Garo Hills (59), Papum Pare (58), East Jaintia Hills (57), and Kra Daadi (55), fall in the Performer category, scoring between 50 and 64.
The NER District SDG Index is a collaboration between NITI Aayog and the Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region, with UNDP as its partner. It serves as a monitoring tool to track sub-national progress on SDGs and aims to support policy action across India's northeastern states.
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