The free movement limit at the Indo-Myanmar border has been tightened to 10 km, with

Guwahati/New Delhi:

The Center has tightened rules for the movement of people on both sides of the border in India and Myanmar, sources said.

The new rules further restrict the movement of people from 16 km under the Free Movement Regime (FMR) to 10 km now on both sides.

The FMR, which in its current form allows entry without visas and passports, began as a formal system in the 1950s to allow tribes who share family, social and ethnic ties on both sides of the border to maintain contact with their people, although it did not was officially known by this acronym only decades later.

Although the Center has announced that it will scrap the FMR, no official notification has been made in this regard, sources said.

For Manipur, the Center has asked the state to deploy two police personnel and two health officials at designated entry and exit points from the outposts of the Assam Rifles, the border guard and counter-insurgency force operating under the Indian Army in Manipur.

A total of 43 designated crossing points will be set up for holders of a ‘border pass’ issued by an authorized representative of the Assam Rifles, according to a letter sent by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to the Manipur government. NDTV has seen the letter.

Only those living in the “border zone” – defined as being within 10km of either side – are eligible to apply for the “border pass” for a stay of up to seven days; the permit holder must return it at the same checkpoint where it was issued.

Those living in villages beyond the “border areas” (10 km zone) and citizens of any third country cannot receive the border pass.

The border permit will be issued to only one adult, and minors (under 18) must be accompanied by their parents. The details of a maximum of three children can be captured on a single border pass belonging to either parent.

Biometric details of Myanmar nationals crossing into India using border passes will be captured by Assam Rifles officials during entry and exit, the new rules say.

The police representatives will go to the places where the Myanmar nationals have mentioned as their visiting address in India to check them. Any border pass holder who goes beyond the 10-km zone or stays for more than seven days will be punished as per Indian laws, the rules say.

In the pilot mode, eight entry and exit points will be opened as soon as the two police officers and two health workers are made available and the software to capture details of border pass holders is stabilized, the letter said .

Apart from the pilot, entry and exit points will be set up in two phases – 14 in the first phase after installing biometric machines and 21 in the second phase after setting up more infrastructure.

Proof of identity can be issued by the local police station officer or an equivalent rank in the case of Myanmar, and a local village headman or local authority declaring that the applicant belongs to the village that is within the 10 km “border zone”. “on both sides. The proof of identity document is valid for one year.

Manipur has asked the Center to scrap the MRF and fence off the porous Indo-Myanmar border, while its neighbors Mizoram and Nagaland have opposed both proposals, citing ties with related tribes across the border.

Manipur’s Meitei community, which dominates the valley, and more than a dozen distinct tribes, collectively known as the Kukis, who are dominant in some hilly areas of the state and share ethnic ties with the people of Myanmar’s Chin state, have been fighting since May 2023 for a number of issues. such as land rights, political representation, drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

Indian and Burmese citizens were allowed to visit each other’s territories up to 40 km away without visas or passports, following some kind of agreement between the two neighbors in the 1950s. In 1968, India tightened the FMR with a new permit system. The rise of insurgency in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland then raised concerns about the RMF on the Indian side.

In 2004, India limited the FMR distance to 16 km from 40 km. Further, instead of allowing people to cross from multiple points, only three places were allowed to be used as crossing points – Pangsau in Arunachal Pradesh, Moreh in Manipur and Zokhawthar in Mizoram.

In 2018, India and Myanmar signed the Land Border Crossing Agreement, which added more regulations and harmonized the existing MRF.

Manipur shares 400 km of the 1,640 km long India-Myanmar border. Fencing began on the most porous border. It is expected to take several years to fully fence the entire length of the border.