Imphal, Sept 19: The central government has allocated ₹31,000 crore for a large-scale project to fence the entire 1,643-kilometer India-Myanmar border, aimed at enhancing security and curbing smuggling of arms, drugs, and other illegal activities, sources said on Wednesday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted the importance of securing this border, which has been linked to ethnic violence in Manipur, and confirmed that 30 kilometers of fencing is already in place, with 21 more kilometers under construction.
The project, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security, will include fencing and road construction across the borders of Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. To date, 10 kilometers of fencing has been completed near the border town of Moreh in Manipur.
The decision follows the recent termination of the India-Myanmar Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allowed local residents to cross the border up to 16 kilometers without documentation. This policy change has sparked mixed reactions among northeastern states.
While Manipur supports the move as a critical step toward controlling illegal migration and drug trafficking, Mizoram and Nagaland have opposed it, citing concerns about disrupting historical and cultural ties, particularly within the Zo ethnic community. Nagaland’s state assembly recently passed a resolution opposing the fencing project.
Despite opposition, Manipur’s Chief Minister N. Biren Singh strongly backs the initiative, emphasizing the need to secure the state’s 400-kilometer border with Myanmar to combat rising illegal activities. The fencing plan was first announced by Amit Shah earlier this year during a ceremony in Guwahati.
