Imphal: The Manipur government has introduced a mandatory Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for district-level security review meetings to strengthen inter-agency coordination, intelligence sharing and public safety across the state.
The directive, issued by order of the Governor and signed by Chief Secretary Rajeev Singh Thakur on Friday, requires every district to conduct high-level security review meetings at least once every fortnight. Additional meetings may be convened whenever local security conditions warrant.
Under the new guidelines, District Magistrates (DMs) will chair the meetings, while Superintendents of Police (SPs) will coordinate inputs from the participating security and intelligence agencies.
The SOP makes it mandatory for heads of all security forces deployed in the districts to attend the meetings. These include the Civil Police, Armed Police, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), the Indian Army, Assam Rifles and intelligence units. If an officer is unable to attend for unavoidable reasons, a suitably ranked alternate officer must be formally nominated.
Executive Magistrates and district-level officials responsible for essential services, transport, communications and relief operations are also required to participate to ensure a coordinated administrative response.
The meetings will primarily focus on reviewing the law-and-order situation, assessing the preparedness of security agencies, sharing early-warning intelligence and strengthening coordination between districts.
Officials will also review the deployment of Executive Magistrates, community engagement initiatives involving peace committees and civil society organisations, and vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, including roads, power grids and mobile connectivity.
The SOP further emphasises the need to counter misinformation. It directs officials to promptly verify information and disseminate facts in a timely manner to prevent rumours from spreading and creating public unrest.
The guidelines also establish a reporting mechanism to ensure administrative accountability. District Magistrates will be responsible for maintaining detailed minutes of each meeting and submitting consolidated progress reports to the Home Department every month.
However, serious or critical security incidents must be reported to higher authorities immediately, without waiting for the routine monthly reporting process.
The directive also lays down safeguards for the handling of sensitive information, stating that intelligence must be shared only through authorised channels. It further clarifies that all participating agencies must operate within their existing legal powers and established command structures.