2023 UNLF pact, highways, rail link: Manipur govt lists BJP regime’s key gains

The Manipur government on October 6 highlighted the 2023 peace agreement with the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) as a significant step towards peace and stability in the state, while listing infrastructure and welfare initiatives undertaken under the BJP-led administration.

State government spokesperson Th Radheshyam Singh said the agreement signed with the UNLF in November 2023 was a major effort towards establishing peace and stability in Manipur.

The agreement was signed in New Delhi on November 29, 2023, between the Centre, the Manipur government and the UNLF, a valley-based armed group. The Union Home Ministry had described it as the first time a valley-based Manipuri armed group had agreed to return to the mainstream after renouncing violence and agreeing to respect the Constitution and laws of the country.

Singh said Manipur had also witnessed major connectivity and infrastructure projects under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He highlighted the ongoing Jiribam-Imphal railway line, including the construction of the Noney Bridge, and said around 1,100 km of national highways, involving an investment of approximately Rs 16,000 crore, had been sanctioned for the state.

According to Singh, the projects would improve connectivity and contribute to economic development in Manipur.

Another state government spokesperson, S Ranjan Singh, highlighted the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system in Manipur in December 2019.

He also said fencing had been sanctioned for around 240 km of the India-Myanmar border at an estimated cost of Rs 3,223 crore.

On drinking water coverage, Ranjan Singh said rural tap-water coverage in the state had increased from around 6 per cent to nearly 80 per cent, attributing the improvement to government efforts to expand access to piped drinking water.

Highlighting developments in education, sports and healthcare, he said the National Sports University was established in Imphal and Churachandpur Medical College became the first medical college in the hill districts of the state.

Ranjan Singh also said more than 14 lakh people in Manipur had been covered under Ayushman Bharat.

He said externally aided projects worth more than Rs 11,000 crore had been approved for the state, with around Rs 6,400 crore received for capital investment. These investments, he added, were in addition to centrally sponsored schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

Ranjan Singh said the government's focus on Manipur and the Northeast had contributed to development and greater integration of the region with the rest of the country.