Imphal, May 19 2009: With a view to not to depend on the Central Paramilitary Forces and Army for maintaining law and order in the state, the state cabinet has approved a long term plan of the state Home Department to recruit over 5,000 personnel as riflemen for the Manipur Rifles battalions, constables and police commandos for Manipur Police Department.

The state cabinet meeting held this evening in the conference hall of the Chief Minister's Secretariat discussed among other agenda the recruitment of a large number of personnel for the state forces.

Sources said, the cabinet decided to add one company each to the six battalions of Manipur Rifles and recruit 678 personnel for this.

In order to make up the shortage of police personnel, 2,400 police constables for eight districts excluding Imphal West district would also be recruited.

The cabinet also decided to stop selecting personnel from the existing various state forces under the police department and post them as police commandos and instead appoint straight 1,600 personnel as police commandos.

The 1,600 police commandos to be newly recruited will be deployed in all the districts including the hill districts of the state, the sources said.

The state cabinet has given its consent on recruiting 500 personnel for Village Defence Force.

This has been defered from earlier cabinet meeting as the election model code of conduct had come into force.

In another decision, the cabinet has approved a proposal .brought up by the state Home Department for appointing 88 posts including one Assistant Jailor for the Jails under the Home Department.

Today's cabinet meeting has also approved the state government's initiatives to talk with one KCP faction known as Lallumba group.

The meeting agreed to sanction required funds for the proposed talk during which the group concerned will have to be accommodated and rehabilitating them. The government has also decided to acquire 41 acres of land for the displaced people due to the expansion of Imphal Airport.

As the affected people for the expansion have been compensated earlier, the affected people will have to pay the government for their respective share of land.

The meeting also fixed Rs 42, 000 premium deposit for a 15-acre point of land.

It decided that the land will not be opened to individual according to their choice.

No individual or affected individual will be allowed to acquire more than 15 acre point of the land.

However, those people whose land area has been taken less than 15 acre point for the expansion of the Airport would be given the actual size of their land taken by the government, the source said.

The cabinet had also decided to pay the revenue of different pattas of the government's department to the state revenue department.

The meeting also decided to evict all individual settlers in government's department land.

The cabinet meeting has also unanimously approved for the eviction of settlers in government's reserved forest area under the forest rule.

Among the dwellers to be evicted from forest reserve areas include Waithou Protected Forest Land Area.

The source further said that the cabinet has decided to hike the ex-gratia compensation to be given to a state government employee died in the hand of the underground elements of killed in encounter to Rs 3 lakh and Rs 75,000 to those become handicap in insurgency related incidents.

Injured employees but escape handicap will be compensated with Rs 50,000 while those receiving minor injuries will be compensated Rs 10,000 as per the cabinet decision.

The cabinet sitting also agreed to pay a sum of Rs 10 lakh to the family of the deceased assistant engineer (in-charge) of the state PWD, Keisham Nabachandra who was killed by some miscreants at the gate of his resident last year when he came back after watching Laiharaoba.

It also decided to hand over the improvement works of the roads, Singhat to Behang, Singjol-Singhat, Moreh-Thingphai,Pallel-Chandel, Sugnu-Chakpikarong road handling by the state PWD to the Border Road Organisation.

The cabinet also agreed to the modification of rules governing the pension scheme of government employees.

Under the modified rules, if both parent died, children of the family can avail the benefits of their parent employee.

Various provisions which would allow by the married also included in the approved modified schem.

A new scheme which would be benefited to labour class people of the state called the Rajtriya Bhima Yojna will be launched in the state.

Benefits under the scheme can be avail by the labour class below the poverty line registered with the state labour department.

Under the scheme facilities of treatment of family of five members under this category could get free medical check.

Ninety percent of the funds for the scheme will be from the Centre while state will share 10 percent.

Smart card will be prepared with an amount of Rs 30 lakh by the state labour department, the source said.

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