More documentary evidence has emerged to add the mystery surrounding the proposed Manipur Bhavan at Silchar. The Budget Estimates of the Government of Manipur for 2022-23 reveal that the N. Biren Singh government earmarked Rs.1 crore specifically for the Construction of Manipur Bhavan at Silchar, raising many questions over why the project never materialised despite receiving a formal budget allocation.
These are the findings on further investigation by Imphal Times team which reported that the proposed Manipur Bhavan project, first announced nearly two decades ago, never obtained Cabinet approval, administrative sanction or a formal government order during the Ibobi Singh government, even though land was reportedly identified for the purpose.
The Budget Demand No. 3 (Secretariat) for 2022-23 (a copy of which is with the Imphal Times) places the project under Major Head 4216 – Capital Outlay on Housing, with a separate budget head titled “Construction of Manipur Bhawan at Silchar”, carrying an allocation of Rs.100 lakh for major works.
The importance of the entry lies not merely in the amount allocated but in the fact that the project had, by 2022, become part of the official budget approved by the government. Unlike a political announcement or an election promise, inclusion in the State Budget ordinarily reflects recognition of the project by the Finance Department and the executive.
Yet the official allocation has produced a more troubling question than before.
If the project had become an approved budget item in 2022-23, where was it supposed to be constructed?
The earlier Imphal Times investigation established that the 24-bigha land once associated with the proposed Manipur Bhavan is presently recorded in the name of Congress MLA K. Meghachandra Singh. Court records and election affidavits indicate that the property is privately owned, while former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh had acknowledged that no formal government approval had existed when the proposal was first conceived.
The Budget document, however, suggests that more than a decade later the project had not been abandoned. Instead, the N. Biren Singh government formally budgeted funds for its construction.
This apparent contradiction raises several unanswered questions.
Was the Rs.1 crore allocation intended for construction on the same 24-bigha land that later became private property? (as the land is owned by MLA K. Meghachandra as reported yesterday). If not, had the government identified an alternative site? Was any land ever acquired by the Government of Manipur for the project? Was the allocated amount released to any executing agency, or did it lapse without utilisation? If expenditure was incurred, where are the corresponding work orders, utilisation certificates and progress reports?
The budget document itself does not answer these questions. It merely establishes that the project existed as an official government scheme in the 2022-23 Budget.
The allocation also appears modest when compared with other capital projects under the same demand. During the same financial year, the government earmarked Rs.8 crore for the construction of Manipur Bhavan at Shillong, Rs.12 crore for taking over Koirengei Airfield and Rs.5 crore for construction of a new Lokayukta building. The Silchar project received Rs.1 crore, suggesting that it may have been intended as an initial phase rather than the full project cost.
For thousands of Manipuris travelling to Silchar for medical treatment, education and official work, a Manipur Bhavan has long been viewed as an essential public facility. Successive governments acknowledged that need through repeated announcements. The budget document of now confirms that the proposal also found its way into official financial planning.
Yet, four years after the allocation and nearly eighteen years after the idea was first announced, there is no Manipur Bhavan at Silchar.
The emerging record presents a project that travelled from political promise to budget allocation but seemingly disappeared before execution. Whether the allocated funds were released, reappropriated, surrendered or simply remained unutilised can only be answered through official disclosure.
The mystery has therefore entered a new phase. The question is no longer merely why the proposed land became private property. It is now equally important to know what became of a government project that was significant enough to receive its own budget head and a Rs.1 crore allocation, yet left behind neither a building nor a public explanation.
