Imphal, Jan 30 (IANS) The Manipur government on Thursday announced plans to rehabilitate around 40,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs), who have been living in relief camps since ethnic violence erupted in May 2023, by March this year.

Manipur Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel, announcing the rehabilitation plan, said that the Government aims to resettle more than 10,000 displaced IDP families consisting of more than 40,000 people by March 31, 2026.

“The Government remains committed to ensure timely and safe rehabilitation of all displaced persons at the earliest,” he said. The Chief Secretary said that the state government, from time to time, has been apprising the people of Manipur regarding the progress of resettlement of IDPs in the state.

“As stated earlier, a state-level committee under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, and with the Commissioner, Home Department, Director General of Police, and other senior officials of the government as members, has been formed to monitor the rehabilitation process in the state, Goel said.

Similarly, district-level committees are formed under the District Magistrates. According to the Chief Secretary, these committees are meeting regularly and conducting rigorous reviews of the rehabilitation process.

He said that the primary aim of the government is to gradually and securely rehabilitate IDPs, restore stable living conditions, and enable resumption of livelihoods, education and normal community life.

The government’s vision extends beyond mere relocation of IDPs from camps to their homes, rather a holistic transition out of relief camps with focus on livelihood, education and overall wellness of the IDPs. By December 2025, more than 2,200 families consisting of about 10,000 IDPs had been resettled, Goel said.

To further this momentum, approximately 7,000 houses have been sanctioned under the Special PMAY-G (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin) for the reconstruction of fully damaged houses, and these units are currently in various stages of completion. The government has so far released about Rs 124 crore for the resettlement of IDPs at various locations. As on Thursday (January 29), about 3,700 families consisting of about 16,500 IDPs have been successfully resettled.

Meanwhile, hundreds of violence-hit IDPs on January 12 staged a protest rally in Imphal, demanding a positive response from Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on their resettlement.

Backed by the COCOMI, the IDPs organised the rally and demanded that displaced families be allowed to return to their original places with adequate security arrangements. A team led by COCOMI Convenor Khuraijam Athouba held a meeting with Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel and later met the Governor, after which the agitators dispersed.

A Lok Bhavan official had said the COCOMI-IDPs joint delegation called on the Governor at Lok Bhavan, Imphal, where they shared broad concerns related to the situation of displaced people and raised various issues requiring attention.

The state government has established over 300 relief camps across the Imphal Valley and hilly regions to provide shelter to over 60,000 men, women and children displaced since the outbreak of ethnic violence in May 2023

–IANS

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