The COCOMI Farmers’ Wing has questioned the delay in disbursing compensation to farmers whose paddy fields in peripheral areas have remained uncultivated due to the prevailing conflict situation in Manipur.
Speaking to the media at the office of the United Committee Manipur (UCM) at Lamphelpat today, Ph. Syamchand, Convenor of the COCOMI Farmers’ Wing, said farmers in peripheral areas have been unable to cultivate their paddy fields since the outbreak of the conflict on May 3, 2023, as they face attacks and threats while attempting to access their fields.
He said affected farmers had submitted applications online through the respective district authorities seeking compensation for the 2024–25 agricultural season. According to the Agriculture Department’s assessment, compensation claims involving around 10,286 farmers are still pending.
Syamchand said the affected paddy fields cover approximately 9,807.428 hectares, while the compensation amount calculated by the Agriculture Department is around Rs 8581.565 crore.
He stated that the respective District Monitoring Committees had conducted verification of the applications and forwarded them to the Agriculture Department, following which the matter was submitted to the Home Commissioner for further action.
Syamchand said the Agriculture Department had already submitted its recommendation on February 18, 2026, but the Home Department subsequently raised questions regarding the increase in the number of applicants.
Questioning the delay, the COCOMI Farmers’ Wing Convenor asked why compensation had not yet been released to the affected farmers despite their applications having undergone verification and being recommended by the concerned department.
He urged the authorities to streamline the process and ensure that the pending compensation is released to the affected farmers at the earliest.
