Imphal, February 24 Union Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has approved the construction of 5,000 houses for the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Manipur, officials said.
Chouhan gave the go-ahead for the construction of the houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) for the IDPs affected by the ethnic violence in the northeastern state, after meeting Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh in New Delhi on Monday evening, they said.
The Union Minister also assured all possible help to restore peace and normalcy in the state, according to an official statement.
At least 260 people have been killed and thousands have been rendered homeless due to the ethnic violence between the Meitei community based in the Imphal Valley and the Kuki-Zo groups based in the hills, since May 2023.
Earlier this month, the Manipur government had submitted a proposal for the construction of 5,000 houses for IDPs.
The state government had said in January that it aims to resettle 10,000 internally displaced families by March 31.
As of now, 16,500 IDPs have been resettled in the state, it had said.