Manipur's Hill Residents Demand Local Body Elections Amid Prolonged Administrative Vacuum

: Former members of Manipur’s Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) have called on the Khemchand-led government to hold the long-pending local body elections, saying the prolonged suspension of elected councils has deprived hill residents of development opportunities and their constitutional rights. The former representatives said the delay has resulted in the loss of more than Rs 624 crore in grants from the 15th Finance Commission . They also stressed that individual legislators cannot independently address the infrastructure, healthcare and education needs of extensive hill constituencies in the absence of functioning district councils. The impasse intensified after the terms of the last elected ADC members ended in 2020. The state government subsequently appointed caretaker chairmen to manage the councils. However, the Gauhati High Court declared these appointments illegal in March 2024, following which the Governor formally revoked them later that year. The government then appointed the respective deputy commissioners as temporary administrators to oversee the councils. The renewed demand for elections comes after the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) of the Manipur Legislative Assembly issued a second recommendation for holding the polls on March 12, 2026. Its earlier appeal, made in late 2024, had not led to any action. Former councillors have criticised the government for failing to initiate the election process despite repeated recommendations from the legislative body. The current administrative vacuum has revived concerns over Manipur’s history of prolonged interruptions to elected district council governance. Elections remained suspended from 1988 to 2010, a period marked by demands for greater regional autonomy and the extension of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Elected local governance was restored in 2010 under the Okram Ibobi Singh-led government following legislative amendments. However, the councils again became inactive after the terms of their elected members expired in 2020. The former councillors maintain that restoring elected councils is essential to ensure accountable local governance, address the development needs of hill communities and protect their constitutional rights.