A delegation of Manipur Councillors representing the six Autonomous District Councils of the State called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh and sought his intervention regarding the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission award pertaining to the hill areas of Manipur.
The delegation comprising Chairmen of the six Autonomous District Councils of Chandel, Churachandpur, Sadar Hills, Senapati, Tamenglong and Ukhrul presented a memorandum to Dr Jitendra Singh wherein they submitted that, according to them, the hill districts of Manipur, along with the areas under Schedule-VI in the neighbouring North-Eastern States, had been excluded from the purview of the award of the Seventh Pay Commission.
They quoted the 14th Finance Commission recommendation which stated that “areas under Schedule-VI in Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Assam, the areas in the hill districts of Manipur, rural areas of Nagaland and Mizoram will remain outside the ambit of the measures we have recommended for Panchayats and Municipalities”.
The memorandum further stated that the five hill districts of Manipur are divided into six Autonomous District Councils which do not fall under Schedule-VI of the Constitution of India. However, they said, during the 13th Finance Commission recommendations, allocations under local bodies had been made to the autonomous district bodies of Manipur, which are constituted under a Central Government Act.
Stressing that Manipur is a very resource-deficit State without any funding support from other sources, the memorandum said, it is difficult for district councils to function without special help from the Centre. The memorandum urged the Union Government to consider a larger, sustained and more effective direct intervention for upgradation of administration as well as development of the areas covered under the provision of Article-275(1) in order to bring such areas at par with other areas.
Dr Jitendra Singh gave a patient hearing to the delegation and assured them that their issues will be taken up with the Ministry of Finance and the other concerned quarters.