📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Oinam Premchand
Business
Manipur’s Economy Faces Decade‑Long Setback Over Lack of Roads, Hill‑District Investment, Says NPF MLA
✍️ The Hindu
🗓 21 Aug 2026, 03:03 AM
👁 4
An NPF legislator warned that Manipur’s economy has slipped by ten years due to missing road networks and scant investment in its hill districts.
A member of the Naga People's Front (NPF) in the Manipur Legislative Assembly has cautioned that the state’s economic progress has regressed by roughly a decade. The MLA attributed this decline primarily to the absence of adequate road infrastructure and the lack of targeted investment in the hill districts, which together hinder trade, tourism and agricultural market access.
Hill districts such as Ukhrul, Churachandpur and Tamenglong remain poorly connected to the state’s commercial hubs. Limited road networks increase transportation costs for local producers and restrict the flow of goods and services, thereby suppressing income generation and employment opportunities in these areas.
The MLA’s remarks come amid broader concerns that Manipur’s overall growth rate is lagging behind national averages. Without concerted efforts to improve connectivity and attract private and public capital to the hills, the state risks widening regional disparities and missing out on potential economic gains.
State officials have previously announced plans for infrastructure development, but progress has been slow. Stakeholders are now urging the government to prioritize road projects and incentivize investment in the hill regions to reverse the economic backslide.
Hill districts such as Ukhrul, Churachandpur and Tamenglong remain poorly connected to the state’s commercial hubs. Limited road networks increase transportation costs for local producers and restrict the flow of goods and services, thereby suppressing income generation and employment opportunities in these areas.
The MLA’s remarks come amid broader concerns that Manipur’s overall growth rate is lagging behind national averages. Without concerted efforts to improve connectivity and attract private and public capital to the hills, the state risks widening regional disparities and missing out on potential economic gains.
State officials have previously announced plans for infrastructure development, but progress has been slow. Stakeholders are now urging the government to prioritize road projects and incentivize investment in the hill regions to reverse the economic backslide.