Manipur Govt. submits action plan

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 6. After dilly-dallying for quite sometime, the Manipur Government today submitted an elaborate action plan to the Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, for tackling militancy, toning up administration, tightening law and order situation and clearing up the financial mess in the State.

The action plan, prepared in consultation with the officials of the State Government and the Home Ministry over the past three days, covers about a dozen areas where the State Government would be focussing its efforts to set its house in order.

The action plan, submitted by the Chief Minister, Mr. W. Nipamacha Singh, proposes to take time-bound action in uncovering lotteries scandal, fake appointments, alleged nexus of MLAs and Ministers with militants. In his meeting with the Chief Minister on January 2, Mr. Advani had expressed his unhappiness over the deteriorating law and order situation and a lethargic state of administration. He had emphasised the need to work unitedly to restore the confidence of the public in the administrative machinery and boosting the morale of the civil servants so that militants and extortionists got the message that anti-national activities would not be tolerated.

While the State Government had agreed to authorise the CBI to investigate the alleged irregularities in the conduct of Manipur Lotteries from 1990 onwards and fake appointments in the Education Department over the past decade, it had decided to continue with its in-house inquiries into the alleged nexus of Government functionaries with the militants.

``I am optimistic that the situation will be tackled with this action plan,'' Mr. Advani told reporters after a meeting with Mr. Nipamacha Singh here today. Mr. Singh said the State Government was probing sanction of ex-gratia, placement of orders for police uniforms and web equipment and the probe into the irregularities alleged to have taken place would be completed this month and the reports submitted to the Union Home Ministry.

``In case the Home Ministry finds that the reports are unsatisfactory, the State Government will have no hesitation in issuing notifications entrusting the investigation of these cases to the CBI,'' he told presspersons here.

Mr. Singh expressed the hope that changes in the police set up and tightening of the law and order situation would bring about desired results within a month. He said the Inspector-General of Police (Intelligence) had been asked to prepare dossiers of all MLAs and Ministers and probe their alleged links with the underground rebels.

According to the action plan, the Intelligence and Security Wings of the State Police Department would be separated as soon as the State Government received the study report from the Home Ministry.

Mr. Singh said two battalions of the Manipur Rifles would be deployed exclusively for counter-militancy operations under the direct and unhindered control of the State Police chief. Strict action would be taken against the police personnel who surrender weapons without offering any resistance.

The action plan also proposes to revive the Manipur Public Service Commission and ensure that all appointments in the State were done through it.

The State Government agreed to follow the ``no work, no pay'' principle as also payment of salary through cheques to all employees in future. Strict security plan for entry into the State Secretariat and Government offices in Imphal would be worked out and entrusted to the Central Reserve Police Force.

Faced with an overdraft of nearly Rs. 200 crores, the State Government had also agreed to set up an Expenditure Commission, to be headed by an expert, selected by the Union Finance Ministry. The State Government would also take action to restore screening of Hindi films and Hindi programmes on video channels and cinema halls in Manipur.

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