Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Imphal: The Manipur Cabinet approved a Rs 10 lakh payment for the next of kin of 49 people missing since ethnic violence ignited on May 3, 2023. Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh chaired the meeting on Thursday at the Secretariat Complex. Government spokesperson Sapam Ranjan Singh called the payout a special humanitarian measure.
These families currently struggle to claim standard death benefits. Existing laws require a seven-year wait before declaring a missing person dead. They lack the death certificates and postmortem reports needed for Central assistance schemes. Sapam Ranjan Singh stated, "The families of the missing persons had suffered hardships comparable to those faced by families of victims who died during the conflict."
The Cabinet also overhauled ex-gratia payments for Army and Central Armed Police Forces personnel. Old rates from 2006 were outdated. Payments now match state police standards: Rs 10 lakh for death, Rs 2 lakh for permanent disability, Rs 1 lakh for grievous injury, and Rs 20,000 for simple injury.
Journalists also saw financial adjustments. Monthly pensions for retirees jumped from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000. Family pensions for eligible beneficiaries climbed from Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000. Finally, the state will form the Fifth Manipur State Finance Commission to cover the 2026-27 to 2030-31 fiscal period.
Updated at 2nd October 2026 at 1:47am
The state will shoulder the entire Rs 4.9 crore bill for the humanitarian payouts from its own coffers. Officials confirmed that the 49 individuals remain missing despite persistent, long-term search operations conducted since the chaos broke out.
The upcoming Fifth Manipur State Finance Commission will consist of a chairman, a secretary, and members tasked with expertise in public affairs. These officials will handle state fiscal matters for the designated five-year window.
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