25/11/2025
Living in keirang imphal, contesting MP in outer constituency manipur under NPF party, and now speak in favour of their people communalising the meitei community, playing victim/tribal/marginalised/minority card. Such sympathiser of nscn should be vigilant by the public... Most of their community leaders have such one sided ethnocentric mindset...
Former Principal Chief Commissioner Urges President Murmu to Create Separate Budget for Manipur’s Hill Areas, Citing Constitutional Mandate, Systemic Neglect, and Widening Valley–Hill Divide
IN a strongly worded petition submitted to the President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, Eno.K.Timothy Zimik a retired Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax and former Lok Sabha candidate from Outer Manipur (ST), has called for an immediate separate and independent budget for the Hill Areas of Manipur, arguing that decades of constitutional neglect, administrative bias, and deliberate political suppression have left the tribal hill population marginalized, underdeveloped, and voiceless.
Introducing himself as a Naga from Manipur with 36 years of experience in the Ministry of Finance, the petitioner asserts that the situation of the hill people has now reached a point where “only a separate budget can address the structural injustice inflicted since statehood.” He grounds his appeal on the constitutional framework of Article 371C, which empowers the President to ensure proper administration of the Hill Areas through the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) and grants the Governor special responsibility for its functioning.
However, the petitioner states that despite the President’s 1972 Order mandating the creation and operation of the HAC, no further Presidential interventions have taken place for over five decades, even as the hill population continues to suffer erosion of rights, underdevelopment, and political exclusion.
President’s Mandate Under Article 371C ‘Not Implemented’
According to the petition, Article 371C clearly empowers the President to ensure:
▪︎Proper implementation of the HAC Order, 1972;
•Fulfillment of the Governor’s constitutional duty to protect the Hill Areas;
•Periodic review of the functioning of HAC;
•Corrective measures and directions to guarantee accelerated development of the tribal regions.
Yet, the petitioner argues that neither the President, the Governor, nor the Union Government has taken meaningful action to uphold these mandates. “The HAC today is practically defunct,” the petitioner notes, adding that its powers have been systematically undermined by successive state governments dominated by the Meitei-majority Imphal Valley.
Governor’s Special Responsibility ‘Ignored’
The petition highlights Paragraph 9 of the 1972 Order, which assigns the Governor “special responsibility” for ensuring HAC’s effective functioning and grants discretionary authority independent of the Council of Ministers. Despite this, the petitioner states that no Governor has fulfilled this constitutional responsibility, resulting in a complete administrative and developmental breakdown in the Hill Areas.
The petitioner attributes this failure to three main reasons:
Political capture of the state government by 40 Valley MLAs who dominate the Assembly and systematically block hill-centric measures;
Lack of reports from the Governor to the President regarding hill administration, as mandated and
Absence of financial safeguards, which leaves the Hill Areas entirely dependent on the state administration that allocates resources overwhelmingly in favour of the Valley.
Structural Suppression of Hill Representation:
The petitioner highlights that if delimitation were carried out based on the 2001 Census, the Hill Areas should have at least 23–24 MLAs instead of the current 20. However, strong opposition from the Meitei-dominated Valley has stalled delimitation for years, allowing the Valley to retain 40 Assembly seats and control state power.
This imbalance, the petition notes, has enabled “predatory political behaviour,” where Valley MLAs use “fraudulent manipulation, threats, enticements and money power” to suppress tribal legislators and neutralize the HAC.
HAC and ADCs Rendered Powerless:
The petition elaborates how the HAC’s mandates—ranging from development planning to scrutiny of bills affecting the Hill Areas—have been consistently ignored. Bills affecting the hills are routinely passed without HAC consultation, while resolutions of the HAC are treated as non-binding.
Similarly, the petition calls the existing Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) “defunct, powerless and dependent entirely on the state’s mercy.” The petitioner argues that the tribals never asked for these weak ADCs, but have long demanded Sixth Schedule status, which the Centre has failed to provide.
Economic Backwardness and Widening Disparity
The petition underscores the stark contrast between the densely populated Imphal Valley and the sparsely populated Hill Areas. Comprising 90% of Manipur’s landmass, the hill regions remain severely underdeveloped compared to the Valley’s flourishing infrastructure, education, and healthcare systems.
The petitioner warns that poverty in the hills, combined with lack of livelihood alternatives, has pushed many poor farmers into poppy cultivation, which in turn fuels armed ethnic conflict. A separate budget, he argues, would directly address the economic roots of this crisis.
Central Revenues Meant for Hills Not Reaching Them
The petition presents a detailed analysis of the 15th Finance Commission’s formula, which allocates funds to states based on income distance, population, area, forest cover, demographic performance, and tax effort. According to this calculation, over 51% of funds allocated to Manipur by the Centre are attributable to the Hill Areas.
Yet, the petitioner claims that these funds are overwhelmingly diverted to the Valley. “The hill people receive a fraction of what they are constitutionally entitled to,” he states, calling this a grave injustice enforced through systemic discrimination.
Urgent Appeal for Separate Budget
The petitioner urges the President to:
Invoke her constitutional powers under Article 371C;
•Ensure equitable distribution of central revenues;
•Revive and empower the HAC;
•Replace defunct ADCs with genuine self-governing bodies;
•And most importantly, create a separate budget for Manipur’s Hill Areas to guarantee fair development, protect tribal rights, and restore peace and justice.
The petition calls this “the only viable pathway” to uplift the tribal population and correct decades of structural inequality in the state’s governance and resource distribution.
The representation has also been submitted to the Governor and Chief Secretary of Manipur.
The Dawn Tantak( TDT News)
Ukhrul, Nov'24:
