Manipur violence: Govt announces scheme for families whose houses were set afire

IMPHAL: The Manipur government on Wednesday announced a permanent housing scheme for the displaced families whose houses were set afire or damaged during the violence that broke out on May 3, an official said.

The officials said that around 4,800 to 5,000 houses have been reported to have been destroyed in valley and hilly areas of Manipur.

The scheme is exclusively for those whose houses had been damaged or burnt down during the ethnic strife between the non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki-Zomi communities in the aftermath of the Tribal Solidarity March organised by All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM), the official said.

The implementation of the scheme shall be done in a balanced approach based on need assessments certified by the district administration concerned.

Kuki-Zomi tribals are mostly in five hill districts -- Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Chandel, Tengnoupal and Pherzawl, while non-tribal Meiteis live in another five valley districts -- Bishnupur, Kakching, Thoubal, Imphal West, and Imphal East.

Under the scheme, Rs 10 lakh would be provided to those affected families whose concrete houses were burnt down or damaged, Rs 7 lakh would be given to families whose semi-permanent houses were burnt down or damaged, while Rs 5 lakh would be given to those affected families with kutcha (temporary) houses that were burnt down or damaged in the riots.

For the repair of partially damaged or burnt houses, 50 per cent of the package amount (as per pucca/ semi-pucca/ kutcha structure) or actual cost of repair, whichever is lesser, shall be disbursed to the violence-hit families.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh recently said that prefabricated houses are being constructed to rehabilitate displaced people temporarily at a cost of Rs 149 crore while the permanent houses would be built in the original places for those affected by the violence in the state.

Last month, around 3,000 families were relocated from the relief camps to newly constructed prefabricated houses while more such temporary prefabricated houses are being constructed in different districts of the state.