Government sanctions ₹31,000 crore to fence Myanmar border

The Union government has approved ₹31,000 crore to fence the Myanmar border, a senior Home Ministry official said on Wednesday.

The 1,643-km Myanmar border runs along the States of Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km) and Mizoram (510 km).

On Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said fencing work had been completed on 30 km of the border, which, he termed the root cause of the ethnic violence in Manipur.

The Cabinet Committee on Security had, in principle, approved the construction of border fencing and roads along the 1,643-km international border between India and Myanmar at an approximate cost of ₹31,000 crore, the official said.

About 10 km of fencing has already been completed near Moreh and work is under way to fence another 21 km of the border in other areas of Manipur.

The Union Home Ministry earlier this year scrapped the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Myanmar border which allows people residing close to the border to venture 16 km into each other’s territory without any documents.

The official said two battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) along with 200 companies of other central armed police forces (CAPF), around 22,000 personnel had been deployed in Manipur. Other than this, the Manipur police and the Army were deployed in the State.

“Continuous dialogues are being held with both Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities to restore peace in the region as soon as possible,” said the official.

At least 237 people have been killed in the ethnic violence between the tribal Kuki-Zo and the Meitei people since May 3, 2023. More than 60,000 people have been displaced from their homes.