The Manipur Legislative Assembly on Friday passed 10 Demands for Grants amounting to ₹6,710 crore, 88 lakh and 32 thousand for various departments during the fifth day of the 7th Session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly.
The House convened at 11 a.m. with Thokchom Satyabrata, Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, presiding over the proceedings.
During the Question Hour, Congress MLA Oinam Surjakumar raised a starred question seeking clarification on the reasons behind rising inflation in Manipur and the steps taken by the government to improve the purchasing power of the people.
Replying to the query, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh stated that the ethnic tensions that erupted in 2023 had disrupted the movement of trucks along the national highways, leading to an increase in the prices of essential commodities.
However, he said the situation has improved with the gradual return of normalcy, resulting in stabilisation of prices. He also claimed that Manipur is currently among the fastest-growing states in the country.
The Chief Minister further stated that the government is working to ensure the timely release of monthly salaries for government employees and pensions for retired officials to increase cash flow among the public.
Responding to a cut motion moved by Congress MLA Thokchom Lokeshwar Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, who attended the session via video conferencing, said there were no irregularities in the disbursement of Pre-Matric and Post-Matric scholarships for Scheduled Tribe students in the state.
She clarified that the scholarships are distributed according to guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. However, she noted that delays occurred in some cases due to non-linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts, lack of domicile certificates, and absence of other required documents.
In a follow-up response, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh acknowledged the delay in conducting elections to the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in the hill districts of the state. He informed the House that the Cabinet had asked the Hill Areas Committee to submit a report on the matter, and further action would be taken after reviewing the report. He also assured the Assembly that a report would be submitted during the session regarding whether funds allocated to the ADCs would lapse if the councils remain non-functional.
Moving another cut motion on the Demand for Grants of the Environment and Forest Department, MLA Thokchom Lokeshwar Singh expressed concern over the widespread poppy cultivation in the state. He said that the ongoing anti-poppy drives appear to target farmers alone and stressed the need to identify landowners who permit such cultivation on their land.
Responding to the issue, Environment and Forest Minister Losi Dikho said that land ownership in the hill districts is complex due to community ownership patterns, making it difficult to fix responsibility on individuals. However, he assured the House that measures would be taken to identify landowners and hold them accountable, either individually or collectively, for illegal cultivation.
The minister also informed the Assembly that the state had registered 202 forest offence cases and arrested 139 offenders during 2025–26. Of these, 48 cases were related to illegal mining, while 153 were linked to forest fires.
As part of preventive measures, 560 voluntary village fire committees have been set up across the state. In addition, a helpline has been activated for reporting forest offences and fires, and assistance from an AI-driven satellite monitoring system of North Eastern Space Applications Centre in Shillong is being utilised.
According to the minister, the system will help provide early warnings of forest fires and monitor land-use patterns, as well as forest cover loss and gain. He further noted that five working plans have been initiated, including consolidation of protected and reserved forest boundaries, digitisation of records, and removal of encroachments in forest areas.
