Govt working to implement ILPS fully with base year: CM
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 24 2020: Chief Minister N Biren has stated that the State Government has" been working to implement the Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) in a more comprehensive manner so that it fulfils the expectation of the indigenous people of the State.

Seven demands for grants pertaining to Police, Jails, Fire Protection and Control, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Home Guards, Agriculture and Fisheries amounting to Rs 2851.44 crore were passed by the State Assembly today.

Speaking in the course of discussing the demands, Chief Minister N Biren who is also in charge of Home Department said that after the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 was extended to Manipur so as to keep away Manipur from the ambit of the Citizenship Amendment Act, a gazette notification was issued on December 31 last year and the Manipur Inner Line Permit Guidelines 2019 came into immediate effect.

Govt working to implement ILPS fully with base year: CM

The guidelines may have grey areas which are confusing to the people but it can be rectified, Biren said.

Saying that the State Government is serious about adopting a base year for ILPS, Biren said that the Government has been taking some time to work out the base year in conjunction with the National Register of Citizens, Biren said.

ILPS does not allow nonlocal people to buy land in the State.

As such, the State's land is now totally safe, he said and added that there is no question of inserting names of people who have been issued permits under ILPS in the State's voter list.

Written suggestions to omit or add something to the ILPS guidelines would be warmly welcomed.

Regarding the base year, the Government would take an opportunity for a joint meeting with MLAs and representatives of political parties at the time of the NRC exercise, said the Chief Minister.

Taking part in the discussion, Opposition leader and ex-Chief Minister O Ibobi cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's repeated declaration that the Central Government has not yet considered about any Nation-wide NRC exercise.

He then asked as to how the Chief Minister was saying that the NRC exercise would begin soon.

Replying to Ibobi, Biren said that the Central Government informed the State Government to start the NRC exercise as they (Central Government) are aware that ILPS alone would not be able to address the State's issue effectively.

Subsequently, the State Cabinet adopted a decision and the same was forwarded to the Central Government, Biren said.

Later, Speaker Y Khemchand asked the Government to table the gazette notification about enforcement of ILPS in the House before the ongoing session is over.

Earlier, MLAs Kh Joykisan, RK Imo and K Meghachandra raised a policy cut motion saying that the ILPS guidelines do not have a base year and are totally hollow and many key terms are not defined properly.

On scrapping AFSPA 1958 raised by MLA K Ranjit, the Chief Minister said that the matter has been discussed by the State Cabinet and the Union Home Minister and some other National leaders have been asked to consider repealing AFSPA from the State.

However, the State Government alone cannot decide on lifting disturbed area status or repealing AFSPA.

There must be congruity among the reports sent by different agencies of the Central Government, Biren said.

A political dialogue has been going on with Kuki militant groups under Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact after it was agreed that no homeland demand would be raised.

If the dialogue would harm the interest of Manipur, it would be terminated, Biren said.

To Abdul Nasir's observation that no drug lords or king-' pins have been arrested even though huge quantities of contraband drugs have been seized from different parts of the State, Biren said that a drug kingpin who is a Myanmar citizen was arrested from Tripura recently.

The arrested drug kingpin was released by Court on bail but the State Government re-arrested him under NSA and he is currently lodged in prison, Biren said.

He also offered to table a detail report with permission, from the Speaker on drug seizure cases and their status in the State Assembly.

The drug menace cannot be controlled by the Government alone.

It demands collective efforts of the MLAs, CSOs, churches and the general public, he said.

The Chief Minister went on to claim that cases of mob violence and killings have come down after the enforcement of the Manipur Protection of Mob Violence Act.

Charge-sheet has been submitted against six people involved in lynching a man at Tharoijam, Imphal West and the Government would soon take up necessary measures to prevent entry groups of people in Court complexes other than a handful of concerned people, Biren said.