The Forest Department has been specifically ordered to stop all operations in the hills, while administrative officers have been barred from implementing development outreach programmes like “Go to Hills” and “Go to Villages.”
BY PC Bureau
July 2, 2025 — Amid escalating ethnic tensions in Manipur, the Sadar Hills Chiefs’ Association (SAHILCA) has issued a strongly worded press release declaring a total ban on all government activities and programmes in Kuki-Zo inhabited areas of Kangpokpi district.
The handwritten release, dated July 2 and issued by the association’s Information & Publicity Wing, announced an immediate halt to all initiatives by the Forest Department, Government of Manipur, within Sadar Hills. SAHILCA made it clear that “all kinds of activities in Kangpokpi district” by the department must cease henceforth.
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The ban goes beyond forest operations. The association categorically opposed all ongoing or proposed government programmes in the Kuki-Zo belt of Kangpokpi until what it referred to as “the end of the present violent conflicts” in Manipur.
Specifically, SAHILCA has barred district-level officers—including the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs)—from conducting the Manipur government’s flagship outreach schemes, such as “Go to Hills” and “Go to Villages.” These initiatives were designed to improve rural governance and development in tribal areas.
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SAHILCA said its decision stemmed from rising mistrust and the state government’s alleged failure to address the concerns of the Kuki-Zo population. “Continuing with these initiatives now would be both insensitive and provocative,” a spokesperson said, warning that such actions risk further destabilizing law and order.
The move comes as Kangpokpi, a Kuki-majority district, continues to reel from fallout of the ongoing ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities. Numerous civil society organisations in the region have increasingly expressed resentment over what they describe as state overreach and biased governance.
The ban underscores a widening disconnect between the state government and tribal leadership in the hills, with SAHILCA emerging as a vocal force asserting Kuki-Zo autonomy in local administration.
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