IDPs ask for house-wise assessment

IMPHAL, Dec 9: Submitting a report on their visit to Leimaram Waroiching village on December 8, 2025,  joint representatives of IDPs  have reminded Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla that only 23 days are left for the Government to fulfil its assurance of resettling IDPs.
Altogether 257 displaced persons from 64 families were resettled at Waroiching a few days back and a team of IDPs visited the village on December 8 to assess the conditions of the resettled IDPs.
Giving a report of their visit to the Governor and the Chief Secretary through a memorandum which was endorsed by COCOMI, the joint representatives of IDPs said that seven houses have been completely flattened and will need rebuilding from foundation while many other houses require 70-80 per cent reconstruction before they become habitable.
Many houses lack usable toilets, severely compromising sanitation and undermining dignity and health, it said.
The standard assistance amount currently provided is insufficient even for minimal repairs.
Given the wide variation in damage across houses, a uniform compensation approach is inadequate. A detailed, house-wise assessment should be conducted immediately and compensation/rehabilitation grants recalibrated according to actual damages and prevailing market reconstruction costs, read the memorandum.
Sanitation infrastructure (toilets, drainage, safe water, waste disposal) must be prioritized for reconstruction wherever needed, it said.
Saying that security personnel are currently deployed at the village entrance, subjecting returning civilians, visitors, and aid-providers to strict checks including identity verification and group photographing, the joint representative of IDPs urged the Governor and the Chief Secretary to relocate the security deployment to the border area in between settlement zones (rather than policing everyday movement at the village entrance).  
They said that the resettled population comprises civilian families without hostile affiliations.
This would maintain necessary security while reducing undue hardship on innocent civilians and aid-workers, read the memorandum.
It appealed to the Governor for a comprehensive, house-by-house damage and needs assessment without delay; revision of compensation/rehabilitation packages according to actual damages and current reconstruction costs; prioritisation of sanitation facility reconstruction (toilets, drainage, water and waste infrastructure) and review of current security deployment strategy, relocating deployment from village entrance to more sensitive border zones.
With only 23 days left before the December deadline and the precarious living conditions of returning families, timely and humane implementation of rehabilitation measures is imperative, it said.
“We urge your good offices to treat these issues as top priority and issue necessary directives to relevant district- and village-level authorities”, it added.
Meanwhile, highlighting all these concerns and requirements, the COCOMI has submitted a representation to the Deputy Commissioner and Chairperson, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Committee of Internally Displaced Persons, Bishnupur district.
The representation said that it would be more strategic and less disruptive to relocate security deployment to the border area between the Kuki-settlement and Meitei-settlement areas, rather than policing the everyday movement of returning residents and helpers at the village entrance.