More than a year after the violent ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities plunged Manipur into its worst humanitarian crisis in decades, the state government has declared it will close all relief camps housing internally displaced persons (IDPs) by December 2025. The decision comes as part of a three-phase rehabilitation programme commencing this month—July—marking what authorities say is a decisive move toward normalcy.
Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh, speaking on the second foundation day of the Manipur State Commission for Scheduled Tribes in Imphal, stated that the phased rehabilitation will occur in July, October, and December. He stressed that families unable to return to their original homes by the final phase will be allotted newly built pre-fabricated housing units—currently under construction in districts like Churachandpur and Kangpokpi.
“We plan to shut down around 350 relief camps. The number of displaced persons has decreased from 62,000 to 57,000. The process has already begun,” Singh said. He confirmed that families are cautiously returning to their villages in certain districts, where agricultural activities have slowly resumed—an indicator, he said, of a “visible improvement on the ground.”
The government has announced a three-tier financial assistance programme.
The first category includes approximately 7,000 to 8,000 families whose homes were destroyed in the 2023 arson attacks. They will receive a combined Rs 3 lakh per household (Rs 1.3 lakh for reconstruction and Rs 1.7 lakh as rebuilding support).
The second category comprises around 7,000 individuals whose homes were spared but who fled due to fear and threat perception. They will receive undisclosed financial aid to help “start life afresh.”
The third category—estimated to include 8,000 to 10,000 IDPs—comprises those still unable to return by December. They will be resettled in pre-fabricated housing colonies, with 1,000 new units already under construction. “We’ve lost not just homes but generations of trust. Rs 3 lakh can’t rebuild a life, nor can a tin-roofed prefab home substitute for ancestral land,” said a Kuki-Zo woman currently living in a relief camp near Moreh.
Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 2025, when former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh resigned amid mounting criticism over the state’s handling of the ethnic crisis. With no elected leadership at the helm, many have questioned the legitimacy and preparedness of the current rehabilitation initiative, which is being orchestrated in close coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Singh, the Chief Secretary, admitted that discussions with the Union are ongoing, particularly regarding identifying families willing to leave camps and facilitating safe returns.
Since May 2023, over 260 lives have been lost, more than 1,500 injured, and over 70,000 displaced in the wake of one of the most brutal ethnic conflicts in India’s post-independence history. The violence, which tore through villages and towns, burned down homes, places of worship, and public infrastructure, has left Manipur in psychological ruins even as the government speaks of “phased recovery.”
