Manipur Assembly fixes 1951 as NRC base year, 24,475 illegal immigrants detected; 14,992 pushed back

The Manipur Legislative Assembly on September 7 resolved that 1951 will be the base year for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state, with Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam saying the government will pursue the matter with the Centre in line with the House resolutions.

Replying to a question from Opposition MLA K Meghachandra Singh on the NRC updation and the original physical records of the 1951 NRC, Konthoujam said the state government was tracing the old records and would take up the matter with the Government of India.

He clarified that the state government alone cannot implement the NRC without approval from the Centre.

The minister said the Manipur State Population Commission, constituted in accordance with a resolution adopted by the Assembly on August 5, 2022, was already in place.

Konthoujam said the issue of NRC needed to be handled cautiously, pointing to the experience of Assam where the NRC exercise has remained embroiled in legal proceedings and the final register has not been made available in the public domain.

He said the state government had repeatedly pursued the Centre on the issue, including after the Assembly reaffirmed its earlier resolution on March 1, 2024. On September 2, 2026, the House unanimously passed another resolution reaffirming its earlier decisions on NRC updation.

“We need to cautiously move the Centre so that it would not fail like that of Assam,” the minister said.

24,475 illegal immigrants detected

Replying to another question from Opposition MLA Th Lokeshwar Singh on illegal immigration, Konthoujam informed the Assembly that 24,475 illegal immigrants had been detected in Manipur so far.

Of the total, 14,370 were detected in Chandel district, 6,545 in Kamjong and 3,560 in Tengnoupal.

The minister said the government had already initiated measures to identify illegal immigrants and investigate the reported influx and unnatural growth of new villages.

A 12-member committee headed by former minister Awangbow Newmai was constituted on August 7, 2024, for the purpose, he said, adding that the government had also issued an order on the committee’s Action Taken Report.

He also referred to a Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted on February 17, 2023, under former Tribal Affairs Minister Letpao Haokip, with Awangbow Newmai and Th Basanta Kumar Singh as members.

An official Executive Committee was subsequently constituted by the Home Department on March 24, 2023, headed by Commissioner S Chourasia and comprising senior police and district officials to verify illegal immigrants and assist the Cabinet Sub-Committee.

However, the verification exercise was disrupted by the violence that erupted in Manipur on May 3, 2023, the minister said.

14,992 pushed back to Myanmar

Konthoujam said 14,992 of the 24,475 detected illegal immigrants had been pushed back to their country, while others remained in temporary shelters in the state.

In Kamjong, 5,378 of the 6,545 detected immigrants had been pushed back, while the remaining 1,167 were sheltered in government camps.

In Tengnoupal, only 14 of the 3,560 detected immigrants had been pushed back. The remaining 3,546 were being sheltered in areas along the Indo-Myanmar border and had been instructed to remain under the supervision of the respective Deputy Commissioner after their biometric details were recorded.

In Chandel, 9,600 of the 14,370 detected immigrants had been pushed back to Myanmar. Biometric records had been collected from 1,308 of the remaining 4,770, the minister said.

The remaining immigrants are being housed in temporary shelters across the three districts. In Kamjong, they are being kept at Namli, Wanglee, Kaka, Zoro, Iko, Skipi, Huimin Thana and Phaikoh.

In Tengnoupal, the 3,546 immigrants are staying in Sadang village areas along the international border, while those in Chandel are being housed at Molcham, Gamphajol, Khangtung, L Nampao, Yaingol, Bongjang, Kheljang, New Lajang and nearby villages.

The government has also directed the respective Deputy Commissioners to segregate the detected illegal immigrants from local Indian communities, the Home Minister told the House.