Rights Group Slams Aid Cuts for Displaced Families in Manipur

LAMKA — The Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) issued a strong press condemnation on August 25, 2026, protesting against the arbitrary reduction, exclusion, and threatened discontinuation of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and relief assistance for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Churachandpur District.

According to KWOHR's Information & Publicity Department, the organization expressed deep concern over the arbitrary reduction of eligible family members among 15,409 registered IDPs, the exclusion of members from 3,119 registered families, and the continued denial of relief to more than 4,000 non-camped families, impacting over 20,000 individuals. All affected individuals have been displaced by violence since May 3, 2023.

KWOHR emphasized that entitlement to humanitarian relief must not depend on temporary shelter locations and criticized the non-implementation of the Manipur High Court order dated June 11, 2026 (PIL No. 9 of 2026), which mandated relief for non-camped IDPs with retrospective effect from May 3, 2023.

The organization called on the Government of Manipur and the Government of India to immediately restore all withheld or reduced DBT and relief aid, include all eligible family members, extend assistance to non-camped IDPs living in rented homes or with relatives, execute back-payments from May 3, 2023, and continue support until final rehabilitation and resettlement under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.