Kuki-Zo Council opposes Manipur’s move to revive 1967 Hill Areas land law

Imphal: The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), a coalition of major Kuki-Zo civil society organisations, has strongly objected to what it describes as the Manipur Government’s “renewed attempts” to enforce a decades-old law that would remove traditional land ownership rights of tribal chiefs in the hill districts.

The Council’s statement came in response to a November 24 letter from the Manipur Home Department. The letter directed the Land Resources, Tribal Affairs, and Hill Areas departments to take steps “at the earliest” towards implementing the Manipur Hill Areas (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act, 1967.

Although the Act received Presidential assent in 1967, it has never been operationalised.

Law seeks to end hereditary land ownership of Hill chiefs

The 1967 Act transfers land ownership from traditional tribal chiefs to the State, ending the hereditary system that exists among hill tribes.

The latest push to operationalise the Act followed a representation by the Manipur Meetei Tribes Union (MMTU).

KZC calls move ‘destabilising’ amid ongoing conflict

Condemning the development, the KZC said that a non-tribal organisation proposing major changes to tribal land governance shows “deep disregard for tribal rights”.

The Council argued that making such decisions during a period when Manipur continues to face ethnic conflict and displacement is “deliberate” and “risks further escalation”.

KZC urged the Governor of Manipur to intervene immediately and ensure that the matter is not pursued “under the present circumstances”.

Previous calls to implement the act

Despite the ongoing ethnic tensions, former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had told Parliament in 2024 that his government intended to accelerate the implementation of the 1967 Act.

BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh had also publicly supported its enforcement.

Concerns over NEC-sanctioned guest house in Imphal

The KZC further criticised the North Eastern Council (NEC) for approving ₹2.13 crore on November 27, 2025, for constructing a Hill Chiefs’ Guest House at Palace Compound, Imphal — a place where Kuki-Zo chiefs and residents “cannot safely enter today,” the Council stated.