Policy Memorandum (Training Docu)

Lunminthang Haokip at Indira Bhavan: 113 ITP, LBSNAA, Mussoorie

Policy Memorandum:

Administration of Urban areas in Hill Districts of Manipur:

                                                                        By: Lunminthang Haokip

                                                                         Director, TA & Hills, Manipu

            Introduction:  The Hill Areas of Manipur in India’s North East region  cover 9/10^th of the State’s total area of 22,327 sq. Kms. Out of the sports-loving State’s total population of 27.21 lakhs (Provisional Census, 2011), 34.2% settle in the land covered by the Hill Area Autonomous District Councils, namely, Chandel, Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamienglong, Churachandpur and Sadar Hills ADCs. The six ADCs had been administered under the provisions of Manipur Hill Areas Autonomous District Council, 1971 ever since the first ADC Election was held in the year 1973. After a long gap, the latest ADC election was held in 2010.

            Hill DHQs: Each of the six Autonomous District Councils has its District Hq at the most geographically and administratively convenient location within the district’s boundary. In fact, due to reasons historical and age-old local identification, five of the six ADCs have DHQs named after the name of the concerned District. Sadar Hills, which was made an ADC within Senapati district, was an exception. SHADC has its hq at Kangpokpi the naming of which was different from the rest districts of the state.

            Issue Identification: Hill DHQs of Manipur like Churachandpur, Chandel, Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamenglong and Kangpokpi gradually grew from being small towns in the distant past to become medium towns of late. Whereas, the urban areas of the NE state were administered under Manipur Municipalities Act, 1994 following the State Legislature’s adoption of the provisions of 74^th Amendment of Indian Constitution, at the behest of the Hill people whose collective stand was ventilated by their respective representatives, even the erstwhile Small Town status of the hill DHQs was abolished. The removal of small town status of the hill DHQs pre-empted future provision of municipal amenities  in the urban settlements of the hill areas of Manipur. Nevertheless, the rate of urbanisation in the DHQs grew faster than imagined. Presently, the hill towns of Manipur do not enjoy the urban facilities and privileges their counterparts in the rest states of North East India enjoy under the provisions of the Constitution (74^th Amendment) Act of 1992.

            Policy Analysis: In 2006, the State Assembly passed the 2^nd Amendment of the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act, 1971. The Amendment gave District Councils the power to pass a resolution to declare any part of its jurisdiction an urban area for the purpose of development plan and to execute works/allotment or lease of land. The whole idea was to facilitate implementation of urban schemes which were taken up under the department of MAHUD – Municipal Administration, Housing and Urban Development – in the hill DHQs of Manipur. But a section of the hill people resisted such a move under the imaginary or real apprehension that their land-holdings might have been at stake in coming under the purview of Manipur Land Revenue & Land Reforms Act, 1960. A Court Case was filed to stay the implementation of the said Amendment which had already been published in the State Gazette. However, the collective mental resistance to the Amendment created an aura of disinterest to further pursuit of the same among hill leaders.

            Merits of 74^th Amendment Act, 1992: As ULBs –Urban Local Bodies- became weak and ineffective and it was felt that the powers and functions devolved to them were inadequate, the Constitution (74^th Amendment) Act came into being. The chief objectives, among others, were to put the relationship between the State Government and the ULBs on a firmer footing and to ensure regular conduct of ULB elections. Under the Act, the ULBs – Nagar Panchyats, Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations - were given the power to manage their own affairs as regards the following items which were listed under the “Twelfth Schedule”:

1. Urban planning including town planning.
2.  Regulation of land-use and construction of buildings.
3.  Planning for economic and social development.
4.  Roads and bridges.
5.  Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes.
6.  Public  health,  sanitation conservancy and solid  waste  manage-
    ment.
7.  Fire services.
8.  Urban  forestry, protection of the environment and  promotion  of
    ecological aspects.
9.  Safeguarding  the  interests  of    weaker  sections  of  society,
    including the handicapped and mentally retarded.
10.  Slum improvement and upgradation.
11.  Urban poverty alleviation.
12.  Provision  of  urban  amenities and facilities  such  as  parks,
     gardens, playgrounds.
13.  Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects.
14.  Burials  and burial grounds;   cremations, cremation grounds  and
     electric crematoriums.
15.  Cattle pounds;  prevention of cruelty to animals.
16.  Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths.
17.  Public  amenities  including street lighting, parking  lots,  bus
     stops and public conveniences.

18.  Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries.''

        Neighbouring States Went Ahead: The other states of North East India like Mizoram,

Nagaland and Meghalaya, following the enactment of the Constitution (74^th Amendment) Act,

1992, amended their respective former Municipality Acts and adopted the provisions of the

new Act. Ever since, 2010, the urban development of NEI towns like Aizawl, Jowai, Dimapur,

Kohima, Shillong and Makokchung took a new turn towards faster growth. The hill towns of

Manipur had been left behind in the urbanization process to make do with relatively lesser

MGNREGS benefits.

        Recommendation: Considering the fact that  the  hill towns of Manipur which,

 otherwise,  could have prospered in development had the provisions under The

Constitution (74^th Amendment ) Act, 1992 been adopted earlier like their counterparts in

North East India did recently, and that the increasing demand of the DHQs in the hill districts

to enjoy equal urban facilities like their counterparts are doing elsewhere, it is

recommended that Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur who also is in charge of Tribal

Affairs and Hills, Manipur, may kindly raise  the matter cited above in the preceding paras to

The Cabinet Committee  to approve Amendment of Manipur Municipal Council Act, 1994 to

Adopt the provisions of The Constitution (74^th Amendment) Act, 1992 in the interest of

Speedy development of the urban areas of the hill districts of Manipur.

(This Policy Memo was a training session exercise during 113 ITP at LBSNAA, Mussoorie).