Imphal/Churachandpur, Aug 22: The rise in the number of villages in Manipur's hill districts has been attributed to displacement during the Naga-Kuki ethnic conflict of the 1990s and the alleged creation of "ghost villages" to draw MGNREGS funds. The remarks were made by BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip in a social media post on Friday, days after former chief minister N Biren Singh, following a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, said government records showed the existence of 926 unrecognised villages in Manipur.

The Saikot MLA said the rise in the number of villages in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and some other hill districts was linked to the displacement triggered by the Naga-Kuki ethnic conflict between 1992 and 1995. " The increase in the number of villages in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and some other hill districts is caused by displacement due to ethnic conflict from 1992 to 1995.

Also, corrupt officials colluded with those who created ghost villages to draw MNREGS funds," Haokip said. He also attributed the proliferation of settlements to what he described as a traditional Kuki practice of splitting villages into smaller hamlets, often led by sons of tribal chiefs.

The Naga-Kuki ethnic conflict, which lasted from 1992 to 1995, claimed over 1,000 lives and displaced more than 50,000 people across the hill districts. During the violence, Kuki villagers living in Naga-majority areas and Naga villagers residing in Kuki-dominated regions moved to areas where their respective communities formed the majority.

In another social media post on Saturday, Haokip rejected allegations linking the sharp population growth recorded in parts of Manipur during the 2001 Census to immigration from Myanmar's Chin state. He claimed that the "abnormal decadal growth" of more than 100 per cent reported in certain areas was the result of a "fraudulent Census exercise" rather than cross-border migration.

" The abnormal decadal growth in population figures of some Naga-dominated sub-divisions is due to a fraudulent Census exercise. It should not be linked to possible decrease in population of Chin state in Myanmar," he said.

The 2001 Census had triggered controversy after provisional data for Senapati district showed population growth exceeding 100 per cent in some sub-divisions. Haokip further argued that large-scale migration from Myanmar was unlikely, noting that military crackdowns in the neighbouring country had forced many people to seek refuge under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with large numbers subsequently resettling in the United States and several European countries.