1 VISION 2022 – TENGNOUPAL DISTRICT GENERAL STRATEGIES Contents: 1. Starting Point 2 a. Introduction 2 b. Economic, Social and Demographic Profile 3 2. Path to Progress 4 a. Structural Transformation 4 b. Infrastructure, Trade and Commerce 5 c. Social Sector 7 d. Police and Security 10 e. Tourism 11 3. Conclusion 12 Kh. Raghumani Singh, IAS Deputy Commissioner, Tengnoupal (Manipur) 2 Starting Point Introduction: Tengnoupal is one of the 16 districts of Manipur state in North East India. The area covered under its present jurisdiction was part of Tengnoupal district, formed in 1974. However, later the district HQ was shifted to Chandel and district was also renamed as Chandel. Recently, in 2016, Tengnoupal was carved out of Chandel district comprising Tengnoupal, Machi and Moreh sub-divisions. Tengnoupal - Tengnoupal is a beautiful town at the highest point of a road (NH-39) between Imphal and northwestern Myanmar (Burma); the ASEAN Highway passes through the town. The climate is cold all throughout the year and remains foggy during the rainy season. The town, with a hill top sub-divisional HQ, is a perfect getaway for nature lovers and has a potential to become one of the top tourist hub in the North-Eastern region of India. Moreh - Moreh is a town located on the India-Myanmar border in the Tengnoupal district of the Indian state of Manipur. The town is mainly inhabited by Kuki tribes and a sizeable number of Tamil, Nepali, Meitei, Punjabi, Telugu, Bihari, Marwari and Muslim Pangals. Moreh plays a very important role in connection with the India-Myanmar relationship and is also a rapidly developing trade point in India on the border with Myanmar, with the city of Tamu on the other side of the border. Moreh is already a huge commercial hub, and economists suggested that it could become a bustling city in the next couple of decades. The town is already seen as the commercial capital of Manipur and India's Gateway to South-East Asia. The Indo-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Moreh connects India to Kalewa in Myanmar's Sagaing Division. The highway on the Myanmar side is intended to run up to Mandalay but it is in bad shape and it is hoped that the rail link to Moreh will eventually be connected to the Myanmar railway system, allowing onward connectivity to Thailand and China. Machi - It is situated on the northern side of the District bordering Thoubal and Ukhrul Districts of Manipur.The Machi Sub Division is inhabited by different tribes: Maring, Kuki, Zou, Tangkhul, Tarou, Agriculture is the main occupation of the people. The people grows different kind of horticultural plants like banana, lemon, ginger etc. The people of Machi Sub Division are hardworking and they are the chief suppliers of horticultural products and vegetables besides broom grass and handicraft products to nearby market of Thoubal, Wangjing and kakching bazaars. 3 Demographic,Economic, and Social Profile: As per Census 2011, the relevant statistics of the 3 sub-divisions of Tengnoupal district are as follows. (Since Moreh is a relatively new sub-division, its data is combined with Tengnoupal sub-division). S. No. Name of Sub-division Population Sex Ratio Child Sex Ratio Literacy Rate 1. Machi 17087 980 896 59.65 2. Tengnoupal 31762 931 954 70.51 The district has negligible presence of Scheduled castes population as it constitutes only 0.37 per cent of the total population. The district is predominantly inhabited by scheduled tribes population as it constitutes 88.97 per cent of the total population. At the sub-district level, it can be seen that only 450 and 10 persons are found residing in Tengnoupal and Machi sub-district from scheduled castes. On the contrary, majority of the population of the district belongs to the Scheduled Tribes. The percentage of scheduled tribes population to total population is more than92 per cent in all the sub-district except Tengnoupal where it is 77 per cent. Even in this sub-district scheduled tribes population in rural areas is significant being 92.62 per cent as against56.24 per cent in urban areas. The literacy rate of district as a whole is 66.71 per cent. Among the sub-districts, literacy rate in Tengnoupal subdistrictis 70.51 whereas Machi sub-division has the lowest literacy rate of 59.65 per cent. The gap between male- female literates among the sub-districts is 15.59, 14.37per cent respectively in Tengnoupal and Machi sub-division. A glance at the census data indicates that among sub districts, Machi has the highest percentage of total workers at 63.55 per cent out of which 64.30 are male sand 62.79 per cent are females workers. The highest percentage of main workers is recorded in Machi at38.74 in which share of males and females main workers is 43.31 and 34.07 per cent respectively. The proportion of marginal workers is also highest in Machi as well at 24.82 per cent comprising of 21.00 males and 28.72 per cent females. The proportion of female marginal workers is higher than the male marginal workers in all the sub-division, highest in Machi at28.72 whereas proportion of male main workers is highest in Tengnoupal sub-division at 47.99 per cent. The bulk of the workforce is engaged in cultivation in which share of females cultivators is higher than males cultivators. In the economic categories of agricultural labourers and household industry females workers out numbered males. But in the category of other workers the proportion of males workers is higher than the females. At the subdistrict level, Machi has the highest proportion of cultivators 62.13 per cent. Moreover, Moreh plays a key role in the development of economy of the state. There are 40 tradable items under the Barter Trade mechanism through Moreh (India-Myanmar Border). 4 Major exports include cement, engineering goods, transport equipment, motor cycles, iron and steels, medicine, chemicals and allied products, cotton yarn, etc. The major items now imported from Myanmar through barter mechanism are betel nuts, turmeric, red kidney beans (Rajma), kuth roots, gram, resin, dry ginger, etc. The volume of trade at Moreh-Tamu Border Point in 2001-02 was ` 95.48 million and in 2009-10 ` 298.19 million - an average increase of 39% p.a. Further, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India has also cleared the operational of "Normal Trade" through Land Customs Station, Moreh. India’s "Act East" Policy and several new measures taken by both the Central and State Governments to promote and enhance trade link with SE Asia, provide Manipur with a competitive advantage. In recognition of the potential of Moreh, the Government of India has notified an ICP at Moreh.The proposed ICP will facilitate speedy movement of export-import consignments and reduce any inconvenience to the general public from any increase in trade from India’s Look East Policy. The state government has identified 18.41 hectares (45.50 acres) of land near Gate No.1 within Customs notified area. RITES, a Central Public Sector undertaking have prepared a DPR for Moreh ICP costing ` 136 crores and is under the process of implementation. The proposed center shall have (i) Immigration Department, (ii) local Police including Women Constables for immediate security, (iii) Land Customs Department, (iv) Customs Preventive Department, (v) Forests, (vi) Narcotics & Drug Control Department, (vii) Postal Department, (viii) Bank Counter, (ix) Telecom, (x) Animal Quarantine, (xi) Plant Quarantine, (xii) Quality Certification Inspection Agencies/Export Promotion Councils, (xiii) Trade Facilitation Counter and Trade related Public Bodies, (xiv) Food Testing Lab, (xv) Truck Parking facility, (xvi) Staff Quarters, basic amenities such as Canteen, Truck Drivers’ Rest House, etc. Path to Progress Structural Transformation: Acceleration in the growth process in the region requires changes in the structure of the economies of the district. The growth rates need to catch up with rest of the country. In most of the cases, income from public administration and government services constitutes a major source and the Government Sector dominates the economy. Acceleration in economic growth will have to come from agriculture, manufacturing and non-government service sectors. This calls for significant changes in the development strategy followed so far, and the creation of an enabling environment for private investment in productive sectors. 5 Infrastructure, Trade and Commerce: Tengnoupal district, due to its strategic location, is in a critical position to be a hub of trade and commerce linking India with the South East Asian nations which is also the reason why Moreh is often touted as a crucial component of India’s Act East Policy. As a result, it is also likely to be the hub of all developmental activities in the state in general and the district in particular. Since the district is newly formed, it lacks the basic infrastructure required for district level administration such as a Mini Secretariat that will include offices for the Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Sub-Divisional Officers and other District Level Officers including government accommodation and guest houses for the staff. Towards the fulfilment of Moreh’s potential as trade and connectivity hub, one of the most important projects taken up in the district is the expansion of national highway (NH-39) converting it to Asian Highway (AH – 1). As per the current status, land compensation for the 2nd package part is to be disbursed within a time frame of 2 months, after which tender process will be started and finalisation of the same will be done. The vision of growth and development cannot be realised without providing the region with world-class infrastructure and building a network of connectivity.