Manipur Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh on Sunday urged his fellow legislators to seek equal land ownership laws for both hill and valley residents of the conflict-hit state.

Singh’s appeal comes at a time when the northeastern state has been wracked by ethnic violence between the Kukis, who mostly reside in the hills, and the Meiteis who account for 60% of the state’s population and are largely concentrated in the Imphal Valley.

The Meiteis have been opposing legal provisions that restrict them and other non-tribal communities from buying land or settling in the state’s hill areas. The provisions have been laid down in the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act of 1960.

One of the flashpoints of the ongoing conflict is the demand by the Meiteis to be included in the Scheduled Tribe category. This will automatically make them eligible to buy land in the hills.

On Sunday, Singh – who represents the Sagolband Assembly constituency – said that all citizens are allowed to buy land and settle down in the valley areas, which account for less than 10% of the total land of the whole state. He said that while residents of the valley cannot buy land in the hill districts of their own state, they can do so elsewhere in the country.

“It is one of the most illogical, controversial and biased law ever enacted by Parliament which forbids the Valley people from buying such lands, except for few areas mentioned in the Act,” Singh, who is the son-in-law of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, said.

The legislator said that his father, RK Jaichandra Singh had tried to amend the law when he was the Chief Minister during 1988-90. However, at the time he said that “powerful tribal leaders, politicians, businessmen and village chiefs created an ‘imaginary’ threat perception that people from the valley would go and settle down in the hill districts.”

He added: “On the other hand, these leaders have their properties in the valley area and enjoying the benefits while the poor tribal people in the hills are not able to enjoy the same as the land belongs to the Chiefs, few individuals, Community as per the customary law.”

Singh said that the extension of the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act to the hills would not mean that the land would be taken over by the government or people from the valley.

The BJP MLA said that an amendment to the law would protect the state from undocumented migrants settling in the hill districts.

He, however, noted that since the Act has been passed by Parliament, the law will need to be amended and ratified in Parliament.

The violence, which started on May 3, had started after the Manipur High Court on April 19 had asked the BJP government to consider petitions of the state’s majority Meitei community to be included in the Scheduled Tribe category and decide on them “expeditiously”.

Since then, at least 190 people have been killed in widespread violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities.

Also read: Why Manipur’s tribes are alarmed by court push for Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community