Imphal | The Manipur Cabinet has approved one-time financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each to the next of kin of 49 people who have remained missing since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, 2023.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Thursday. Government spokesperson and MLA Sapam Ranjan Singh said the Cabinet approved a Home Department proposal to provide the assistance as a special humanitarian measure to the families of the missing persons.

According to Ranjan, the 49 people remain untraced despite sustained search efforts since the outbreak of violence. He said the decision was aimed at addressing the difficulties faced by the families, who often cannot access compensation available to families of officially declared victims because of legal and procedural requirements.

Under existing law, a missing person is presumed dead only after seven years. The families also do not have documents such as death certificates and postmortem reports required under the applicable Central assistance scheme. Ranjan said the hardships faced by the families of the missing persons were comparable to those of families who lost members in the conflict and, therefore, the Cabinet decided to extend the same Rs 10 lakh assistance.

The Cabinet also approved revised ex-gratia assistance for Army and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel killed or injured while operating in Manipur in connection with extremist violence. Ranjan said the existing rates of Rs 2 lakh for death and Rs 10,000 for injury had been fixed in 2006 and were no longer adequate.

Under the revised rates, assistance will be Rs 10 lakh in case of death, Rs 2 lakh for permanent disability, Rs 1 lakh for grievous injury and Rs 20,000 for simple injury. The rates will be brought on a par with those applicable to state police personnel.

In another decision, the Cabinet increased the monthly pension for retired journalists from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000. The family pension for eligible beneficiaries has been raised from Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000. The Cabinet also approved a Finance Department proposal to constitute the Fifth Manipur State Finance Commission for the 2026-27 to 2030-31 period.