Manipur House passes 7 demands for grants

Imphal: On the seven day of the ensuing 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly session, the House unanimously passed seven demands for grants amounting to Rupees 37,616,329,000.

The demands for grants are Demand No. 22 : Public Health Engineering , Demand No. 26 : Administration of Justice, Demand No. 34:  Rehabilitation, Demand No. 36: Minor Irrigation, Demand No. 37: Fisheries, Demand No. 41: Art and Culture and Demand No. 44: Social Welfare.

For Demand No. 22 : Public Health Engineering a sum of Rs 2223,44,81,000  (ii) Demand No. 26 : Administration of Justice a sum of Rs 143,57,35,000 (iii) Demand No. 34:  Rehabilitation a sum of Rs 7,38,66,000 (iv) Demand No. 36: Minor Irrigation a sum of Rs 302,76,41,000 (v) Demand No. 37: Fisheries a sum of Rs 62,55,00,000 (vi) Demand No. 41: Art & Culture a sum of Rs  53,71,49,000 and (vii) Demand No. 44: Social Welfare a sum of Rs 968,19,57,000  have been granted and passed in the House for the financial year ending 31st March, 2024.

During the discussion on demands for grants, MLAs K.Meghachandra,  Th. Lokeshwar Singh and Surjakumar Okram moved cut motions on demands no 22, 36, 37, 41 and 44 which were later withdrawn and passed in the House. MLAs Sapam Nishikant and M.Rameshwar also joined in the demand discussion and expressed their observation  and suggestions on the demands of P.H.E.D and Art and Culture.

Replying to a cut motion by the MLAs, Leader of the House N. Biren Singh informed that for progressive functioning of minor irrigation department, the co-ordination between M.I, CADA and Water Resources department is required. There are 217 RLIs out of which around  132 are functioning at present. The non-functioning RLIs will be made functional after proper examination. Digging of bore well under the PMKSY is going on. Proposal for the construction of check dam in the foothills  has been submitted to the concerned Ministry, he added.

Regarding Art and Culture, Biren informed the House that Art and Culture which is  also being the identity of the state is our pride. 38.81 hectors of land has been procured in Imphal East for the construction of Manipur Cultural University.  Rupees 4,97,85,500 has been paid as cost for purchasing the land. Recruitment for staffs for the university has been started.

The Leader of the House said during the G-20 summit in Manipur, the visiting delegates were quite impressed by the rich culture of the state. Film is not declared as an industry in Manipur but the government is making efforts to develop films of the state  recognizing the popularity of Manipuri films. The government is planning to open offices of Art & Culture at the sub divisional levels.

He also mentioned that Rani Gaidinliu memorial site will be constructed at Nungkao. There are 122 registered cultural organisations in the state, he informed.

During the demand discussion of Public Health Engineering department, minister in-charge of the department L. Susindro Meitei said that the department is regularly checking quality of drinking water. An individual requires 135 liters per day in urban areas, 70 liters per day in town areas and 55 liters per day in rural areas as assessed by the department.  The government is planning to start water treatment at Lamphel lake. Minister also stated that a law will be prepared for regulation of private water suppliers in the next Assembly session.

Fishery and Social welfare minister Heikham Dingo Singh  during the demand discussion informed the House that the production of fish has been increased during the past few years  in the state. The production of fish last year had reached 45MT against 38MT in the previous year. During the fish festival of Ningol Chakouba 2022, 1.28 lakh kg of fish could be sold generating an amount of Rs 3.33 crore.  Central schemes like PMMSY, RKVY, NFDB etc. have been implemented to develop fisheries in the state. Loktak Livelihood Mission may be mentioned as a scheme launched by the state. Action plan for the year 2022-23 have been submitted.  A high power committee has also been constituted to inquire misappropriation of departmental funds, he informed.