Roiled by violence, Manipur seeks funds for 5,000 houses under PMAY, more allocation for security in Union Budget

Manipur has been roiled by ethnic clashes since May 2023.

Written by Amrita Nayak Dutta

New Delhi | Updated: July 4, 2024 08:34 AM IST

4 min read

Manipur seeks 5,000 PMAY units, enhanced allocation for security

house built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav/File)

Ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget, the Manipur government has approached the Centre with a wishlist that includes demand for additional funds over and above the 10% usually earmarked from gross budgetary support for North-East states, financial support for 5,000 units of housing for violence-affected victims as a special project under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), and enhanced allocation for security-related expenditure, which has increased significantly in the wake of the ethnic violence.

Sources told The Indian Express that these issues were flagged to the Finance Ministry during the pre-Budget meeting between the states and the Centre. It is learned that the reconstruction of infrastructure, especially houses damaged in the violence, is among the state’s major demands, with Manipur pressing for it as a special project under the PMAY. The state is also in touch with the Home Ministry for this and has sought “sufficient funds” in the Union Budget to address this need.

Other demands made by Manipur include enhancing the upper limit of professional tax from Rs 2,500 per annum to Rs 50,000 per annum, and continuation of the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment to help the state meet critical capital expenditure in sectors facing a resource crunch. It has also sought extension of the timeline until July 31 for utilisation of funds released under this scheme as a one-time relaxation, citing the unrest in the state affecting the movement of goods and people leading to the slow progress of projects taken up under the scheme.

Read | Amit Shah on Manipur: Ensure no more violence

Manipur has been roiled by ethnic clashes since May 2023.

Given that this Union Budget will be the first full-fledged Budget since violence broke out, Manipur is already in the process of drafting several proposals to be sent to different Central government ministries under existing schemes for rehabilitation efforts, including livelihood generation. Towards this, Manipur has sought an enhanced allocation for itself under the various schemes, beyond the 10% Gross Budgetary Support earmarked for North-East states.

Officials said Manipur has also sought early reimbursement of funds which it spent on security expenditure on the ground that the amount has been increasing significantly since the last financial year and has thus been putting a strain on the state’s finances.

A major amount of the security-related expenditure as well as approved relief packages is still pending reimbursement from the Centre, the officials said. Without divulging the exact figures of the expenditure incurred by the state, they said Manipur has sought additional funds in the upcoming Budget for both.

Story continues below this ad

The state is also learnt to have pointed out that over 40,000 houses were damaged in a hailstorm last month as well as flooding due to Cyclone Remal. It has sought adequate funds in the Budget for relief packages following these natural disasters.

Officials said the Centre had provided immense support to Manipur through a special grant for ‘economic loss and recovery’, timely release of funds, relaxation of timelines concerning Centrally Sponsored Schemes.

Earlier this year, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh sought a financial grant of Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre as a special case, citing the loss of tax revenue in the state due to security and economic challenges in the state.

From the homepage